Practical Advice: Basics of Representing Small Businesses

A pre-recorded streaming VIDEO replay of the November 2023 webcast, Practical Advice: Basics of Representing Small Businesses.

This succinct course provides a comprehensive overview of entity selection, contract drafting, regulatory compliance, employment law, and ethical considerations tailored to the unique needs of Virginia’s small business landscape. Whether you’re a novice attorney seeking a solid foundation or a seasoned practitioner looking for a refresher, join us to enhance your legal toolkit and excel in representing small businesses with confidence.

• Dive into the dynamic world of small business representation in the Commonwealth of Virginia
• Examine the fundamental principles and strategies essential for effectively advising and advocating for small enterprises.

Faculty

Bruce H. Russell, II, Bruce H. Russell, II, PC / Lebanon

Bruce H. Russell, II has practiced law for more than twenty years, mainly in the courts of his native Southwest Virginia.  In that time, he has been a prosecutor, law professor, member of a small firm, and solo practitioner, and is proud of his service to his Commonwealth and community in each of these roles. Currently, he has a large and diverse general practice, and represents both individuals and businesses in numerous matters, from business formation to contract disputes and beyond. In recognition of his extensive and continuing service to the bench, bar, and public, he was named the 2023 Virginia State Bar Local Bar Leader of the Year.

Mr. Russell graduated from Richlands High School, The University of Virginia (where he served on the Honor Committee and its Executive Committee as Chairman of the Bad Check Committee), and the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law.  He began his legal career in Charlottesville at the turn of the century with the boutique firm of Thompson & Hagy, focusing on representing small high-tech companies, primarily start-ups.  

Mr. Russell soon returned to the hills of his youth in Southwest Virginia, pursuing an opportunity to join the Buchanan County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office as that office’s only full-time assistant.  While there, he prosecuted everything from murder to the theft of fighting roosters.  Shortly after arriving in Grundy, the Appalachian School of Law brought him onboard as an adjunct faculty member at the then-fledgling school.  Returning to private practice in 2003, he joined the law firm of Bolling & Hearl (eventually Bolling Hearl Russell), working out of Abingdon and Richlands, plus parts in between. He established his own firm in 2009, sharing space in Lebanon with the Hall-of-Fame attorney Steve Quillen.

Currently, Mr. Russell serves as President of the Russell County Bar, the 28th Circuit Criminal Defense Bar, and the Patrick Henry American Inn of Court. He is also Chairman of the Southwest Virginia Law Foundation, and serves on the Board of Southwest Virginia Legal Aid.  He is a member of the Virginia State Bar Council, as well as that body’s Executive Committee. Additionally, he serves on the VSB Special Committee on Bench-Bar Relations and is a faculty member of the Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course. He is a member of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Mr. Russell has been named a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation, and a Virginia Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law.  He is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

He has been happily married to Shannon, a public school special education teacher, since 2007.  They live in Abingdon with their two sons, Clark (15) and Eamon (11), plus canine companions Huckleberry, Tiger Lily, Finn (long-haired miniature dachshunds), and Luna (a goldendoodle).