Joshua Russ, one of the youngest leaders of a civil division within the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will return to private practice Nov. 11 at Dallas boutique Reese Marketos’ newest address.
Russ, who has spent the last three years working at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, will join Reese Marketos as a partner. He will spearhead the firm’s new Plano office, which will be minutes from his current workplace at the Plano federal courthouse and will have a heavy focus on the litigation considered that courthouse’s bread and butter — namely False Claims Act cases and other federal civil investigations that have skyrocketed in recent years as a result of the growing number of corporate relocations to the Eastern District and Plano area.
The move marks a homecoming for Russ, who practiced at Reese Marketos as an associate before he left the firm in 2015 to represent the government in the Eastern District.
“We feel fortunate and happy that Josh has decided to rejoin the firm and we look forward to building a great practice in the Eastern District,” Joel Reese, one of Reese Marketos’ name partners, told The Texas Lawbook. “We’re very proud of Josh and all he accomplished in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and look forward to practicing with Josh again.”
A graduate of Berkeley Law, Russ spent his first three years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an affirmative civil enforcement (ACE) coordinator. He was promoted to the chief of the Eastern District’s civil division in May 2018. At the time, he was only 33 and oversaw the civil docket in all six of EDTX’s divisions: Sherman (which the Plano courthouse is technically part of), Lufkin, Tyler, Texarkana, Marshall and Beaumont.
He also was part of the Department of Justice’s Prescription Interdiction & Litigation (PIL) Task Force, which U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented last February to help fight the opioid crisis.
One component of the PIL Task Force is using the False Claims Act and other tools to crack down on pain management clinics, drug testing facilities and physicians that make opioid prescriptions.
During his time as a prosecutor, Russ helped recover more than $65 million for the federal government and U.S through qui tam actions and other cases deriving from the False Claims Act. His docket was also heavy in claims involving anti-kickback statutes and Medicare fraud.
During his tenure at the DOJ, one of Russ’ biggest wins for the government was securing a $21 million settlement in a False Claims Act case that alleged seven ambulance industry companies and their municipal clients engaged in illegal kickback arrangements. One of the major defendants was the East Texas Medical Center and its affiliated ambulance company, Paramedics Plus.
In 2016, Russ was part of a trial team that obtained a jury verdict convicting Texas family doctor Habiboola Nimatali of illegally selling painkiller prescriptions to patients without examining them.
Beyond his healthcare fraud-heavy wins, Russ also secured a win for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division this spring when he negotiated a settlement with the City of Farmersville after a government investigation determined the East Texas city had violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 when it denied an application by the Islamic Association of Collin County to build a cemetery. The investigation led to a separate agreement between the city and the Islamic Association to pursue a plan to develop the cemetery.
Russ’ return to private practice follows a family legacy. His father, Robertson County District Judge Rusty Russ Jr., had his own practice before taking the bench. Russ said his grandfather also had his own practice.
He said he looks forward to serving individual clients again in work that is “a little more specific than the profuse impact you make when representing the government.” But to be clear, he said he loved his time as an AUSA.
“It has been an incredible honor to serve the public and the Eastern District of Texas,” Russ told The Texas Lawbook. “The men and women of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas are people of integrity and the most dedicated public servants you will ever find.”
Reese said the new office space will be located in Granite Park, a mixed-use retail and office complex that recently added a 30,000 square foot restaurant park called The Boardwalk, which connects all the office towers and offers numerous food and drink options.
He said the firm will “absolutely” plan to hire additional lawyers in Reese Marketos’ new Plano office to help support Russ and the firm’s beefed up False Claims Act/federal investigations practice.