Ghitterman, Ghitterman & Feld

Since 1986, Russell has been practicing law in California. He is a board-certified worker’s compensation specialist and has been an AV-rated lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell. Since the early 2000s, he has been identified as a leader in the worker’s compensation field for Southern California by peer review publications Super Lawyers, Top Attorneys of Southern California (Los Angeles Magazine), and others. In 2021, Russell was also included in the 2022 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America. In 2024, Avvo awarded Russell with the Top-Rated Lawyer award, acknowledging his outstanding community rating. In 2024, the Santa Barbara County Bar Association awarded him the Jamie Forrest Raney Mentorship Award for his contributions to the growth of legal professionals and principals of professionalism, ethics, and practice management.

Russell is a recognized leader in the worker’s compensation legal community, making numerous presentations at state conventions and local seminars to worker’s compensation attorneys. Along with his partner, Ben Feld, they have been recognized as a leader in the pursuit of awards for Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund claims. Russell has qualified and testified as an expert in worker’s compensation law in Superior Court and has been a professor of worker’s compensation law at Santa Barbara Colleges of Law. He has appeared and argued before the California Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal many times, pushing the boundaries and extending the law to protect the injured. He is a Sustaining Member of the California Applicant’s Attorney’s Association, the Santa Barbara County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association, as well as a member of the United States Supreme Court, Ninth District of the US Courts of Appeal, and the Central US District Court.

Russell represents injured workers before the Worker’s Compensation Appeals Board throughout the State of California. For decades, he handled personal injury claims and practiced before various disability retirement boards, including SBCERS, VCERA, KCERA, TCERA, and CalPERS. He has since retired from personal injury law and disability retirement law to focus his energies on expanding the ability of injured workers to obtain awards from the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and handle complex worker’s compensation matters. For more than two decades, Russell was privileged to work with his father, Allan S. Ghitterman. They laughed, argued, and ate lunch together most days. He was his mentor and hero.

Since 1990, Russell has resided in Santa Barbara with his long-time spouse, Julie Harris. They are proud parents of two sons, Benjamin and Avi. Benjamin is a high school English teacher in California, with a BA from Humboldt University and a master's certificate from San Diego State University. He is an avid chess player. Avi recently graduated from Vanderbilt University, resides in Nashville, TN, and is a passionate Ultimate Frisbee player. Aside from his family, which brings him the most joy, Russell has been an avid soccer player since 1990 and loves to play golf and travel.

Speaking Engagements

• Presented on Workers’ Compensation for Central California Legal Services, September 2020.