Biography

RUSS BROWN

Russ is the Managing Partner of Brown Fox and Chair of the firm's labor and employment group. He regularly represents and counsels clients ranging from Dallas-based companies to national and global employers. Russ also represents C-Level executives, senior executives and physicians during employment negotiations and transitions of employment, including litigation representation in matters involving salaries and benefits, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and wrongful discharge.

Russ has consistently been recognized for his legal skills, including D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers Under 40” list and as a Texas Monthly and Super Lawyers “Rising Star” five times.

Russ also dedicates a portion of his practice to local and international justice matters, (e.g., access to counsel, corruption, bribery, and bonded slavery), and has trained colleagues in the Democratic Republic of Congo and India on issues such as witness preparation, conflict resolution, and leadership.

Experience

Russ’s employment litigation experience includes:

•  Defending employers against discrimination claims based upon age, disability, gender, national origin, race, and religion;
• Workplace harassment;
• Wrongful discharge;
• Retaliation;
• Disputes involving employment agreements and policies, including non-competition and non-solicitation restrictive covenants, confidentiality agreements and misappropriation of trade secrets;
• Wage and hour disputes under the Fair Labor Standards Act;
• Claims under Family Medical Leave Act;
• Unemployment claims; and
• Employment torts.

Russ also specializes in employment litigation avoidance, counseling employers regarding:

• Human resource documentation issues;
• Personnel decisions, including employee discipline and discharge determinations;
• Employment agreement negotiations;
• Wage and hour compliance;
• I-9 issues;
• Employment policy audits;
• Workplace investigations;
• Development of practical and cost-effective employment policies and handbooks; and
• Analysis and preparation of various employment and independent contractor agreements.

While Russ’s practice is focused on labor and employment matters, he often counsels clients in matters involving business and commercial litigation and transportation and logistics. With experience spanning from preventative counseling to bet-the-company litigation, Russ is positioned to efficiently and effectively confront and resolve his clients’ legal issues.

Admissions

• Texas (2002)
• U.S. Supreme Court (2007)
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (2002)
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas (2004)
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (2004)
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas (2004)

Professional Affiliations

• State Bar of Texas
• Dallas Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• Employment Law Committee
• Transportation Committee

Education

Russ earned his B.A. from the University of Arizona, majoring in both Political Science and Sociology, while playing baseball for the Wildcats. He coached a year of high school baseball at his alma mater before returning to Texas to attend St. Mary’s University School of Law.

At St. Mary’s, Russ was a member of Phi Delta Phi legal honors fraternity and a recipient of the Dean’s Leadership Award. Russ served as a staff writer and later as a member of the Editorial Board of the St. Mary’s Law Journal. He wrote a legal commentary during his second year of law school entitled, “Class Dismissed: The Conservative Class Action Revolution of the Texas Supreme Court”, which numerous courts and legal publications across the country cited. Russ also served as a judicial intern for Justice Alma Lopez of the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio and studied abroad at the University of Innsbruck in Austria (which included taking a class under the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist).

• St. Mary’s University School of Law, J.D. 2002 (Comment Editor, St. Mary’s Law Journal; Dean’s Leadership Award; Phi Delta Phi Legal Honors Fraternity)
• University of Arizona, B.A. 1998 (Baseball Letterman)

Honors

• Selected by peers as a Texas “Rising Star”, Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Magazine (2006-2009; 2011)
• Sworn in to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts in Washington, D.C. (2007)
• Selected as one of Dallas's "Best Lawyers Under 40", D Magazine (2006)

Publications and Presentations

Hiring Practices: Employers Must Carefully Scrutinize English-Language Requirements: Astute Employees Have Said Farewell to Unnecessary or Unreasonable Language Requirements, Journal for Corporate Recruiting Leadership (Co-Author, June 2007)

Preparing an Airtight Affidavit, Real Evidence for the Trial Practitioner in Texas, Lorman Education Services (March 2007)

Personal Injury Settlement, National Business Institute, Contributor (2005)

Recent Tort Reform Legislation, Lorman Education Services (2004)

House Bill 4: A Brief Overview, Strasburger & Price, LLP Corporate Counsel Series (November 2003)

Class Dismissed: The Conservative Class Action Revolution of the Texas Supreme Court, 32 St. Mary’s L.J. 449 (2001)

In the Community

Russ’s passion for zealously representing his clients also is demonstrated in his work on local and global justice issues, and local charitable needs.

• Recently returned from a second trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, this time Bukavu, where Russ and other Dallas attorneys led a conference for Congolese lawyers and judges on leadership, conflict resolution, bribery, corruption, and issues involving orphans and widows.  The conference was coordinated by Africal Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM) (2011).
• Member of the Executives Board for the 2011 Children's Medical Center Red Balloon Run & Relay (2011 - Current).
• Provides pro bono legal counseling to Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT), which works to promote safety in inner-city neighborhoods by shutting down nuisance properties, including abandoned and dangerous properties uses for prostitution and selling illegal drugs.
• Provides pro bono legal counseling to Second Saturday, which focuses on assisting the senior, low-income and/or disabled homeowner residing in West Dallas.
• Provides pro bono legal counseling to the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center.
• Life Fellow, DAYL Foundation.
• Worked with African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM) and Congolese attorneys on justice issues, conflict resolution, and leadership in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (2010).
• Provided pro bono legal assistance at the first Advocates for Community Transformation (ACT) West Dallas will clinic (2009).
• Trained International Justice Mission (IJM) attorneys, gathered first-hand accounts of IJM successes, and spent time with former bonded slaves and rehabilitated victims of sexual violence in Karnataka, India (2008).
• Co-founded the Dallas Chapter of the St. Mary’s University School of Law Alumni Association, the first local chapter in the law school’s 85 year history (2004). Several local chapters now thrive in Texas and beyond. 

Personal

Russ lives in Dallas with his wife, Renée, and sons Luke and Garrett. The Brown family also has a 7-year old rescued mutt, Bella. Russ enjoys hunting and fishing with family and friends, and is a dedicated fan of the Arizona Wildcats, Dallas Cowboys, and Texas Rangers. He recently was the head coach of Luke's t-ball team, the Sluggin' Monkeys.  Russ and Renée are members of Watermark Community Church.