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Phillip B. Russell

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Phillip is a board-certified OSHA and employment lawyer, litigator, and advisor.  He is a strategic, practical, and trusted partner to clients on labor and employment law matters. One of Phillip’s strengths is developing teams and deploying resources to ensure clients receive the best service and results.

In 2023, Phillip was named a Client Service All-Star in OSHA and Employment Law by his clients through BTI Consulting Group, the only independently researched, client-driven ranking of attorneys’ client service. The only way to become a BTI Client Service All-Star is for corporate counsel to identify their top lawyers by name — with no prompts or suggestions — for client service exceeding all others. One client said, “Phillip just gets the business side of things and is practical and resourceful.”

Client Service Philosophy. Phillip has a “down the hall” approach for clients. When they call, he treats it like they just walked down the hall and asked him for help in person. He either solves the problem himself or gets someone who can.

OSHA Inspections, Citations, and Litigation. Phillip and his teams have helped clients with over 200 workplace fatality inspections and several hundred more types of routine inspections. Their goal is to avoid or minimize OSHA citations. Phillip and his teams work with in-house counsel, safety professionals, HR, and executive leadership to navigate through complex and trying times by bringing calm to chaos and a plan to uncertainty. One client’s in-house attorney recently said, “Phillip and his team gave us calm clarity with practical solutions to help our people and our business after we had a fatal accident on one our job sites.”

Through his leadership in responding to a multi-person, high-stakes workplace fatality for a client, Phillip exemplified the firm’s Client Pledge to serve clients at the highest level through value, innovation, quality, collaboration, and communication. The client’s general counsel commented that, “Phillip responded to the crisis with a firm understanding of the legal issues and business impact and lead the team with resolve, focus, and a plan.” (Ogletree Deakins Living the Client Pledge Award 2018.)

Chambers USA has recognized Phillip as a Band 3 leading lawyer in Occupational Safety and Health (2023). His clients told Chambers “Phillip is an OSHA expert, and a highly practical lawyer.” and  “He remains abreast of cutting edge issues and works hard to learn the client’s business, so his advice and counsel remains practical and effective. He pays attention to the business’s goals and manages the engagement to deliver what is needed.” Chambers has recognized Ogletree as a Band 1 Firm in Occupational Safety and Health.

OSHA Training and Advice. Phillip works with clients to train and educate safety professionals and management on what to do if OSHA shows up and other related topics. He also advises clients on compliance and regulatory issues.

OSHA Regulatory, Policy Advocacy, and Thought Leader.  Phillip represents and advises industry associations and large national employers regarding OSHA’s regulatory and policy initiatives and priorities. He was a leading voice for employers in opposing the COVID Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately struck down. Phillip is recognized as a thought leader on OSHA and workplace safety and health legal issues. He hosts the firm’s OSHA podcast Dirty Steel-Toe Boots, has twice edited the ABA’s seminal treatise on OSHA law, regularly posts OSHA updates on LinkedIn, and speaks and writes regularly for industry groups and professional associations.

Employment Litigator and Strategic Advisor. Phillip serves as lead counsel on high-stakes employment litigation matters that pose significant risk to his client’s business. He is also a strategic, practical, and trusted legal advisor on labor and employment matters. Phillip helps his clients by mobilizing firm and third-party resources using his experience, knowledge, and business understanding to drive strategy recommendations.

Personal. Phillip and his wife, Liz, are parents to two adult daughters, Madison and Ally, and one teenage son, Gavin. He loves spending time with his family and boating, diving, spear fishing, fishing, and hunting. Phillip’s first job was bagging groceries and stocking shelves in his family’s grocery stores. He is a Ramblin Wreck from Georgia Tech, and he never wears red and black!

Advocate for Autism Issues and Awareness.  Phillip and Liz co-founded Autism Inspired Academy in Clearwater, Florida. The school helps children on the spectrum build and sustain lives of meaning, purpose, and joy. The school has approximately 75 enrolled students, including their 15-year-old son, Gavin.

More About Phillip B. Russell

Experience

Phillip is a go-to lawyer when OSHA performs investigations following a fatality or other catastrophic incident. He has handled OSHA matters across many industries, including transportation infrastructure construction, commercial electrical contracting, and other construction industry sectors.

Fatal Struck-by Incident Results in No OSHA Citation

Client: Large international construction company with transportation infrastructure projects, including roadways and bridges.

Incident: At one of the client’s largest bridge replacement projects, a worker was fatally injured when he was hit by a dump truck. We deployed our resources to the job site immediately and worked with the client’s executive, project management, and safety teams to plan and prepare for the OSHA on-site inspection. When OSHA’s compliance officer arrived, we represented the client for the on-site inspection, employee interviews, management interviews, and production of requested documents and information.

Impact on the Client and Our Goal: Being struck by trucks or heavy equipment is a major hazard the company’s workers encounter every day, so it was critical to achieve a favorable outcome. An adverse result could have a financial impact, such as millions of dollars in lost revenue and future projects. The fatality was covered widely in the news and immediately caused the company to undergo heightened public scrutiny following other, unrelated issues the company faced on the same project. An adverse outcome on this matter would have had an immeasurable impact on the company’s business and reputation with workers. Our goal was to show OSHA the company had a robust safety program that included rules and procedures, training, compliance, and enforcement components and either avoid or minimize an OSHA citation.

Result: OSHA concluded its six-month inspection of the job site following the fatality. OSHA did not issue a citation. The matter was closed with the best outcome for the client.

Fatal Trenching Accident Results in No OSHA Citation

Client: Foundation construction company specializing in transportation infrastructure and large scale foundations.

Incident: An employee suffered fatal injuries when an 8-foot deep trench collapsed on him. The client engaged Phillip and his team a week after reporting the fatality to OSHA. We worked with the client’s executive, project management, and safety teams to plan and prepare for the continuing OSHA on-site inspection. We represented the client for the on-site inspection, employee interviews, management interviews, and production of requested documents and information.

Impact on the Client and Our Goal: Trenches are a major hazard the company’s workers encounter every day, so it was critical to achieve a favorable outcome.  The company is a relatively young and small, but fast growing, construction company that could have lost work and bidding opportunities with a negative outcome. Our goal was to show OSHA the company had a robust safety program that included rules and procedures, training, compliance, and enforcement components and either avoid or minimize an OSHA citation. We also needed to show the employee had no known reason to be in or near the trench and his supervisor—who was working on a backhoe at the trench—did not see the employee enter the trench.

Result: OSHA closed its inspection file after deciding not to issue a citation because the company had done all it could do to address trenching hazards and avoid this accident from happening. It also determined the supervisor did not know the employee had entered or was nearby the trench. The client’s owner was thrilled with the favorable outcome.

Fatal Fall Accident Results in Limited Citation

Client: A large national construction company.

Fatal Incident: A worker at a bridge demolition project fell and suffered fatal injuries when the final span of the old bridge unexpectedly collapsed. We deployed our resources to the job site immediately and worked with the client’s executive, project management, and safety teams to plan and prepare for OSHA’s on-site inspection. When OSHA’s compliance officer arrived, we represented the client for the on-site inspection, employee interviews, management interviews, and production of requested documents and information.

Impact on the Client and Our Goal: Falls are a major hazard the company’s workers encounter every day, so it was critical to achieve a favorable outcome, which was to avoid a willful citation. An adverse result could negatively affect the company’s reputation with workers and have a financial impact on the company, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenue. Our goal was to show OSHA the company had a robust safety program that included rules and procedures, training, compliance, and enforcement components and either avoid or minimize an OSHA citation.

Result: The client signed a settlement agreement with OSHA, in which the company agreed to serious (but not willful) violations of two OSHA demolition standards and a reduced penalty. The client was thrilled with the outcome because we avoided a willful classification of any alleged violations. This also helped our client minimize any personal injury liability and regulatory issues.

State Court Summary Judgment Win in Discrimination and Harassment Case

On behalf of a large international client, we obtained summary judgment in state court on a plaintiff’s discrimination and harassment claims. In an outstanding team effort, including attorneys Sarah Kuehnel and Stephanie Generotti, we successfully showed the court the plaintiff’s claims were not supported by any evidence and our client was entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.  The case involved multiple witness depositions and extensive discovery spanning well over four years. Although state court summary judgments are rare, this outcome shows that the right strategy and team can work.

Other Representative Matters

  • 5-person fatality at coal-fired power plant
  • 2-person trenching fatality on utility installation project
  • 2-person fall fatality at hotel construction project
  • Fatal “quicksand” incident at utility construction project
  • Fatal fall on bridge demolition project over navigable waterway
  • Near fatal electrocution on railway construction project
  • Electrocution fatalities involving power lines
  • Fall fatalities in commercial and residential construction
  • Work zone fatalities in paving, road, and bridge building industry
  • Amputations in manufacturing plants

Representative Clients

Acme Barricades, L.C.; Ajax Paving Industries of Florida; All Phase Electric and Maintenance, Inc.; Alliance Power Solutions, Inc.; APG Electric; Avila Golf & Country Club; Boar’s Head Brands; Condotte America, P.E.; Cornerstone Building Brands, Inc.; David Nelson Construction, Inc.; Doyle Electric Services, Inc.; E.M. Enterprises General Contractors, Inc.; General Asphalt Company, Inc.; Hudson Meridian Construction Group; IES Holdings, Inc.; M of Tallahassee, Inc.; Mainline Information Systems, Inc.; Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaning, Inc.; Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc.; PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc.; PODS Enterprises, LLC; Reed TMS Logistics; Ross Security Systems Inc. d/b/a Synergy Florida; S&S Electric Company, Inc.; Southeastern Construction & Maintenance, Inc.; Tampa Tank Inc./Florida Structural Steel; Tucker Paving Inc.; V.E. Whitehurst & Sons, Inc.; Watson Civil Construction, Inc.; Waste Pro USA, Inc.; Woodruff & Sons, Inc.; Yellowstone Landscape, Inc.

Representative Industries

  • Transportation construction: paving, road, and bridge
  • Building construction and roofing
  • Residential construction and roofing
  • Landscaping
  • Manufacturing
  • Transportation and logistics
  • Warehousing
  • Power generation and distribution
  • Grocery and retail
modern angular desk with workers, shot from above
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