2018 Hall of Fame Inductee Thomas B. Russell Class of 1970

The Honorable Thomas B. Russell, Senior Judge, United States District Court, Western District of Kentucky, began his career in private practice at Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Russell.  After 24 years in private practice, Judge Russell was appointed to his current seat on the court.  He served as Chief Judge from 2008-2011.

His judicial appointments include Advisory Committee on Civil Rules for the U.S. Judicial Conference, where he served as co-chair of the Committee to Restyle the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (2003-2007). He served on the Committee on the Administration of the Magistrate Judges System – Judicial Conference of the U. S. from 2008-2014, and currently serves as the Sixth Circuit District Judges Representative to the Judicial Conference of the United States, where he served as president from 2015-2017. He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2014 for a seven-year term, as well as to the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court in 2015 for a five-year term.

Judge Russell’s honors include Judge of the Year (2005) in the Louisville Bar Association, Distinguished Jurist (2011) in the University of Kentucky Law Alumni Association, and Distinguished Judge of the Year (2017) in the Kentucky Bar Association.