Mary Foil Russell Visiting Director, Black Lung Clinic

Phone: 540-458-8562

Email: mrussell2@wlu.edu

Office: Lewis Hall

Education

BA, Carson-Newman University

JD, University of Virginia

Areas of Expertise

State and Local Government, Appellate Advocacy

About

Mary Foil Russell is serving as Visiting Director of the Advanced Administrative Litigation Clinic (Black Lung). Professor Russell previously taught Constitutional Law, State and Local Government, Legal Process, and Appellate Advocacy at Appalachian School of Law. She was Senior Clinical Director of Appalachian's Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) with Ballad Health System & Virginia Tech.

Before teaching, Ms. Russell was Counsel in the Christiansburg, Virginia office of the Richmond-based law firm SandsAnderson, P.C. She represented local governments, and defended numerous clients in general litigation and medical malpractice actions.

Ms. Russell received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and clerked for the Tennessee Court of Civil Appeals. She worked in the public sector as an Assistant Attorney General in Georgia and later was appointed as a Special Counsel to defend constitutional officers in Virginia. Her experience also includes representing debtors in bankruptcy reorganizations and serving as a Panel Trustee for Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases in the Eastern District of Tennessee.