John A. Russo, Esq.
Case Manager: Dorene Kanoh
Tel: (415) 772-0900 Ext. 10
E-Mail
MUNICIPAL EXPERIENCE
2000 - City Attorney CITY OF OAKLAND, CA
Oakland’s first elected City Attorney. Reelected without opposition in
2004 and 2008.
• Restructured City Attorney’s Office towards a greater emphasis on risk
management, resulting in significant decreases in the number of claims,
lawsuits, amount of total liability payouts, and outside counsel
expenditures.
• Led the City through complex and controversial cases such as the
Riders police scandal and the politically charged sexual harassment
claims brought against the Mayor’s closest aide.
• Created the nationally recognized Neighborhood Law Corps program which
has closed over 70 drug hotspots, shut down or remediated over two dozen
problem liquor outlets, forced the rehabilitation of hundreds of
substandard housing units and successfully negotiated first-in-the-state
agreements with Union Pacific and Caltrans regarding their rights-of-way
in Oakland.
• Created the Open Government program with a dedicated staff person to
ensure adherence to sunshine laws and public access to information and
decision-making.
• Established a program to prosecute “hate crimes” by utilizing
California’s Civil Code.
• Successfully lobbied the State Insurance Commissioner to eliminate the
practice of “zip code profiling” by the auto insurance companies.
• Defended Oakland’s Anti-Predatory Lending law at the California
Supreme Court.
2002-2003 President LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES
Spearheaded initiatives with bipartisan support to protect local tax
revenues from state fiscal mismanagement (Proposition 1A) and to amend
California’s Constitution to ensure public access to government records
and decision-making (Proposition 59).
1995-2000 City Councilmember CITY OF OAKLAND
Led the Council in advocating for government reform and fiscal
accountability. Reformed the city budget from a one-year to a two-year
budget. Implemented community policing, brought budget back into
balance, and authored Oakland’s open government (“sunshine”) ordinance,
one of the strongest municipal anti-pesticide ordinances in California,
and an ordinance protecting city creeks.
LITIGATION EXPERIENCE
1996-2000 Of Counsel BELL, ROSENBERG & HUGHES, Personal injury and small
business litigation for construction boutique firm. Crafted legal and
political strategies for client dilemmas involving different levels of
government.
1992-1995 Partner / Litigator ROTH AND RUSSO, Real estate and business
litigation practice
1988-1991 Associate LARSON & BURNHAM, Large trials and arbitrations in
professional malpractice defense.
1988 Associate KAZAN AND MCCLAIN, Law & motion calendar and depositions
for toxic tort firm.
1985-1987 Consumer Attorney LEGAL SERVICES OF EASTERN MISSOURI, Home
foreclosure defense and consumer fraud litigation.
EDUCATION
1985 New York University School of Law, Juris Doctor
Articles Editor, Review of Law & Social Change
Teaching Assistant, Tort Law (Professor Leebron)
1982 Yale University, B.A. cum laude - Economics & Political Science
Clarke Prize, Best Senior Thesis in Comparative Governmental Policy
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Oakland Rotary #3, member, 2007 – Present
National League of Cities, Advisory Board, 2005-Present
Colombo Club, member, 2002 – Present
Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, member, 1994 – Present
Friends of Oakland Parks & Recreation, Board of Directors, 1991-1994,
President 1993
Environmental Affairs Commission, Commissioner, 1992-1994
East Bay League of Conservation Voters, Treasurer, 1992-1993
AWARDS & HONORS
2008 Distinguished Service to the Legal Profession, Italian American Bar
Association
2008 Legal Service Award, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
2005-2008 Northern California Super Layer, Law & Politics Magazine
2007 Contribution to Local Government, League of California Cities
2006 Gold Award for Municipal Excellence, National League of Cities &
CH2M Hill
2005 Helen Putnam Grand Prize Award for Excellence, League of California
Cities
2004 California Lawyer of the Year – Government/Public Policy,
California Lawyer
2004 Guy Rousaville, Jr. In-House Diversity Award, California Minority
Counsel Program
2004 Champion of Local Democracy, League of California Cities
2004 Honorary Award, Latino Caucus, League of California Cities
2004 Honorable Mention, Best Law Firm Publication, The National Burton
Award
2004 Award of Excellence for Publication, Legal Marketing Association
2003-2005 Board of Directors, National League of Cities
2003 Beacon Award, California First Amendment Coalition
SKILLS/INTERESTS
Working knowledge of Spanish & Italian; literature; history; all types
of sports, including international soccer and golf; yoga
This page was last modified in March 2011
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