Phillip B. Russell - Lawyer in Tampa, FL

I am a practical OSHA and employment lawyer who represents businesses only. I am an equity shareholder with Ogletree Deakins in the Tampa office. My national practice areas include workplace safety and health (OSHA), traditional labor relations (staying union-free), unfair competition and trade secrets litigation, employment litigation defense, and advising and counseling employers on workplace legal compliance issues. I represent clients in the construction, staffing, technology, manufacturing, banking, and other industries, with a substantial number clients in the transportation construction and electrical contracting industries. I am also a nationally recognized speaker and author on labor and employment law issues. I am honored to be a peer-review AV-Preeminent? Rated Attorney (by Martindale-Hubbell), rated among the top 5% of lawyers by Florida Super Lawyers (Thompson Reuters), and I am listed in Best Lawyers? by U.S. News and World Report. I earned my law degree from Stetson University and I have B.S. Management and M.S. Economics degrees from Georgia Tech (Go Jackets!)I am a Ramblin Wreck from Georgia Tech and an avid spear gun hunter and SCUBA diver. I don't worry about sharks when I dive, they leave me alone as a matter of professional courtesy! I love living Floridays in the sunshine and saltwater where I boat, fish, and play. I enjoy adventure and obstacle course races and crossfit workouts. I am a ridiculous Parrothead who is only growing older, but not up!

I have extensive experience across a broad range of labor and employment law matters representing businesses in many industries. I have become a trusted advisor to large and small clients that need practical solutions to workplace legal needs. My primary practice areas include --

Workplace Safety and Health (OSHA and State Agency Investigations): OSHA fatality, catastrophic, and other injury or illness investigations involving falls, trenches, confined spaces, electrocutions, elevator shafts, heavy construction equipment rollovers, heavy equipment failures, and other situations on construction sites or in plants.

Traditional Labor Relations (Staying Union-free): I help clients stay union-free through election campaigns, advice and counseling, and supervisor and manager training.

Litigation — Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets (Protecting Clients Business Investments): I help businesses protect investments in their people, trade secrets, and confidential information through employment agreements and litigation by obtaining multiple injunctions enforcing non-solicitation, non-disclosure, and non-compete restrictive covenants in former key employees employment agreements.

Litigation? Employment Law (Defending Businesses) — I have defended hundreds of lawsuits filed by former or current employees, including federal and state court lawsuits claiming discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to pay minimum wage or overtime compensation, and violations of the FMLA or other leave laws.

Advice and Counseling? Employment Law: I help clients protect their businesses with an annual flat-rate Hotline service, supervisor and manager training, reviewing and revising employee handbooks, policies, and agreements, and auditing legal compliance programs and solutions