Faculty Profile: Michael Russell

Michael Russell is a Nashville based mediator and arbitrator who serves as a neutral in cases throughout the United States. He also teaches alternative dispute resolution at the Belmont University College of Law.

Michael has successfully mediated almost every type of civil action, including multi-plaintiff employment cases, complex business disputes, and nation-wide class actions. In addition, Michael has helped discretely resolve numerous disputes involving high-profile litigants.

Michael has a diverse legal background. He has tried jury trials for both plaintiffs and defendants, and he has appeared in courtrooms from New York to California. Prior to having a full-time ADR practice, Michael was a partner in a state-wide litigation boutique. He then became a partner in one of the oldest and largest firms in the Southeast, where he engaged in a nationwide employment litigation practice. He now devotes his entire practice to being a mediator and arbitrator.

Michael graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee. He received his law degree from the University of Memphis, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was a Humphreys Law Fellow. He has a distinguished teaching career, having served on the adjunct faculty at multiple universities.​

Michael is a well-regarded speaker and writer. He has published articles in the American Journal of Trial Advocacy, the University of Memphis Law Review, the Ohio Northern University Law Review, the Seton Hall Constitutional Law Journal, and Employee Rights Quarterly. His articles have been cited by courts, scholars, and in testimony before the United States Congress. He has lectured nationally and internationally.

Michael has served on the boards of numerous civic and non-profit organizations, including the University of Tennessee Alumni Association, the UT Alumni Legislative Council, the National Conference of Law Reviews, the TBA Leadership Law Alumni Association, and the TBA Leadership Law Steering Committee. He is an active member of the ABA Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee and was a co-founder of the Howell Edmunds Jackson American Inn of Court.