Bruce H. Russell, II, a Southwest Virginia attorney and longtime bar leader, has been elected President-Elect of the Virginia State Bar. His term as President-Elect begins July 1, 2026, and he is expected to serve as President of the Virginia State Bar during the 2027–2028 bar year.
Russell’s election marks a significant moment for the Virginia legal community and for lawyers practicing outside the Commonwealth’s major metropolitan centers. A native of the coalfields and a practicing attorney in Southwest Virginia, Russell is believed to be the first Virginia State Bar President-Elect from west of Roanoke in nearly three decades.
“I am deeply honored by the confidence of my colleagues across the Commonwealth,” Russell said. “The Virginia State Bar belongs to every lawyer in Virginia — from the largest firms in our cities to the solo and small-firm lawyers serving rural communities, courthouse towns, and families who depend on local access to justice. I am grateful for the opportunity to support incoming President Sue Tarley, to serve our profession, and to help strengthen the legal system we all share.”
Russell is the owner of Bruce H. Russell, II, P.C., with offices in Lebanon, Abingdon, and Tazewell. His practice reflects the modern evolution of the Virginia country lawyer, including criminal defense, domestic relations, civil litigation, plaintiff’s personal injury, and traffic matters. He began his legal career with the boutique technology law firm of Thompson & Hagy in Charlottesville, later served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Buchanan County, and practiced with the regional litigation firm Bolling, Hearl & Russell before opening his own practice in 2009.
Russell is a 1997 graduate of the University of Virginia and a 2000 graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law. He also taught at the Appalachian School of Law, reflecting a long-standing commitment to legal education, mentorship, and professional development.
Russell currently serves on the Virginia State Bar Executive Committee (second term) and represents the 28th Judicial Circuit on the Virginia State Bar Council. He has chaired the VSB Special Committee on Bench-Bar Relations and has been deeply involved in efforts to improve access to legal services, strengthen local and specialty bars, and support lawyers practicing in underserved regions of the Commonwealth.
He has served for many years as President of the Russell County Bar Association and as President of the 28th Circuit Criminal Defense Bar. He has also served for many years as a board member of the Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society, reflecting his long-standing commitment to access to justice, civil legal services, and the needs of low-income and underserved Virginians. His service also includes leadership with the Boyd-Graves Conference, the Virginia Mountain/Valley Lawyers Alliance, and numerous Virginia State Bar committees and initiatives.
In recent years, Russell has been especially active in statewide discussions about legal deserts, rural practice, attorney wellness, professionalism, access to justice, bench-bar relations, and the future of legal service delivery in Virginia. He has taught extensively for the Virginia State Bar, Virginia CLE, local and specialty bar associations, and regional bench-bar programs on topics including ethics, professionalism, criminal law, personal injury, artificial intelligence, small-firm practice, access to justice, and attorney well-being.
Russell has received numerous recognitions for his service and leadership, including the Virginia State Bar Local Bar Leader of the Year Award, the Virginia State Bar Award of Merit on behalf of the Russell County Bar Association, recognition as a Virginia Law Foundation Fellow, and inclusion among Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s Leaders in the Law. He has also been recognized for professional excellence and pro bono service throughout his career.
Beyond the law, Russell is active in civic, church, fraternal, literary, and community life. He is a lay minister in the United Methodist Church, serves as a trustee at Cedar Bluff United Methodist Church, and is a member of the Holston Conference Board of Trustees. He is also an award-winning poet, whose writing reflects his deep affection for faith, family, friendship, memory, and place. He currently serves as Vice President and a member of the Board of Governors of Alpha Delta Phi International, a literary and social fraternity.
Russell and his wife, Shannon, a public school special education teacher, live in Abingdon with their sons, Clark and Eamon, and numerous dachshunds. He often credits his family, his parents (Bruce and Ginny, both of whom are retired public school teachers and principals, and reside in Bruce’s hometown of Cedar Bluff), his mentors, and the lawyers and judges of Southwest Virginia with shaping his sense of service, community, and obligation to the profession. Bruce is particularly grateful to his mentors Attorneys Bobby Altizer (former VSB President) of Tazewell, and Steve Quillen (former Chairman of the Board of Bar Examiners), may their memories be a blessing.
“This is not simply a personal honor,” Russell said. “It is a chance to lift up the lawyers, judges, courthouse staffs, local bars, and communities that taught me what this profession is supposed to be about: service, example, compassion, courage, and the willingness to help. Virginia attorneys are among the best in the nation, and that includes those west of Roanoke.”