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JAMES L. OTWAY
 James L. Otway is a partner of Otway Russo, LLP. Mr. Otway has practiced law in Salisbury, Maryland for twenty-five years. He received his law degree from Potomac School of Law (J.D., 1978). He is admitted to the bar of Maryland. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates, an organization which is comprised of attorneys who have achieved verdicts and/or settlements in excess of one million dollars in cases involving personal injury or death. His practice concentrates on personal injury and wrongful death cases, and business disputes.
Mr. Otway has extensive experience in resolving business disputes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation. He provides counsel, guidance and representation in areas such as dissolution of partnerships or other entities, breach of contract, wrongful interference with contract, non-competition agreements, specific enforcement of contracts and commercial agreements.
Mr. Otway is a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation. He has served as President of the Wicomico County Bar (1990). Since 1996, he has instructed other attorneys in a professionalism course sponsored by the Maryland State Bar Association. He was appointed by the Maryland Court of Appeals to serve on a statewide Court Commission on Professionalism to develop standards of professional conduct for attorneys.
Mr. Otway serves as a character examiner for the Maryland Board of Law Examiners for the First Judicial Circuit. In addition to all Maryland state courts, he has been admitted to the United States District Court (Maryland), United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, United States Court of the Armed Forces, United States Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. He is a member of The Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Maryland Trial Lawyers Association, and American and Maryland State Bar Associations. He is a member of the Technology and Publications Committees of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association.
Mr. Otway has been active in serving his community as an officer of Our Community, an organization devoted to improving race relations, and Urban Salisbury, Inc., a non-profit organization established to coordinate downtown revitalization efforts. He has served as a member and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Life Crisis Center in Salisbury, counseling on legal issues related to domestic violence. He is married to Kathleen Otway, a teacher. He has three children, Michael, Devin and Morgan. He is an avid fisherman and licensed captain well-acquainted with the ins and outs of the Eastern Shore.
LESLIE HAYES RUSSO
 Leslie Hayes Russo is a partner of Otway Russo, LLP. Ms. Russo's practice at Otway Russo focuses on serious personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability actions and
appeals to state and federal courts. Ms. Russo received her law degree in 1986 from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. where she was a member of the law review and was selected as commencement speaker for her graduating class.
Ms. Russo previously served as legislative assistant and speech writer to United States Senator Patrick J. Leahy. Before joining Otway Russo, she served as law clerk to Judge Theodore G. Bloom of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals (retired).
Ms. Russo previously served as counsel to Salsbury, Clements, Bekman, Marder & Adkins in Baltimore.
Ms. Russo is on the Board of Governors of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association (MTLA) and has served on its Amicus and Publications Committees. She is Assistant Editor of the Trial Reporter, MTLA's scholarly publication. She is expected to become Chair of MTLA's Publications Committee in Fall 2005. Ms. Russo is also a member of MTLA's Legislative Committee. She was recently appointed to be a Fellow of the Maryland Bar Foundation. She is a member of the State Bar, Wicomico County and Anne Arundel County Bar Associations. She has contributed to amicus curiae briefs on behalf of MTLA in connection with landmark decisions of the Courts of Appeal, including Rivera v. Edmonds. She is a frequent lecturer on the subjects of appellate advocacy and product liability. She was appointed recently to the statewide Joint Commission on Juries.
Ms. Russo has handled numerous appeals to Maryland's appellate courts and writes and lectures on appellate advocacy. Ms. Russo is admitted to the bar of Maryland. She has been admitted to practice in other jurisdictions in connection with major appeals.
Ms. Russo is the author of numerous publications. Her writing has focused on issues of trial and appellate advocacy and liability for defective products. She is the co-author of Maryland's leading volume on the law related to personal injury cases based on defective products (product liability).
Among her other recent publications are, "MARYLAND PRODUCT LIABILITY LAW" (MICPEL 2d Ed. 2004); "Final Judgments and Interlocutory Appeals," APPELLATE PRACTICE FOR THE MARYLAND LAWYER: STATE AND FEDERAL (1st and 2nd eds. MICPEL), and various articles in The Maryland Trial Lawyers Association's publication, Trial Reporter, including, "Top Ten Appellate Tips," (Winter 2005); "Arguments Against a Pale Stipulation," (Fall 2003), "Product Liability Update: Halliday v. Sturm," (Fall 2001); Product Liability: Ford Motor Sales v. General Accident Insurance," (Summer 2002); "Can We Appeal Now?", Trial Reporter (MTLA, Summer 2000).
Ms. Russo enjoys writing literature for children, and is the published author of many poems, including "The Cows of Connemara," CHERUBIC CHILDREN'S NEW CLASSIC STORYBOOK, Vol. I. She and her husband, Chris, live in Salisbury. Together they like to canoe and to explore the Eastern Shore.
CHRISTOPHER J. RUSSO, JR.
 Christopher J. Russo Jr. serves of counsel to Otway Russo, LLP. He received his law degree from Syracuse University in 1979. He is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia. He is on the Board of Governors of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and a member of the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association. During the last ten years, his practice has focused on plaintiff's cases, with a particular emphasis on medical negligence cases. Mr. Russo is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates which recognizes attorneys who have obtained verdicts or settlements in excess of one million dollars. Before joining Otway Russo, LLP, Mr. Russo clerked for the Honorable Raymond G. Thieme and E. Mackall Childs, then on the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. He represents clients throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. Examples of some of the cases he has successfully handled are set forth in the section entitled Case Studies.
Luke Rommel
 Luke Rommel is an associate at Otway Russo, LLP. In 2004, he was admitted to practice law in Maryland. He received his law degree from the Ohio State University. (J.D. 2004) Before joining Otway Russo, Mr. Rommel clerked for the Honorable Daniel M. Long, Circuit Administrative Judge, 1st Judicial Circuit. While attending law school, he interned for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission as a research assistant, and also worked as a research assistant at the office of the Ohio Auditor of State.
In 2004, Mr. Rommel received the Judge Joseph H. Harter Memorial Award for Most Outstanding Record in Trial Practice. He was an Academic Honors Convocation award recipient in 2004. In 2002, Mr. Rommel studied Comparative Legal Professions and Legal Ethics at Oxford University in England.
Mr. Rommel is an adjunct professor at the Salisbury University Perdue School of Business, where he teaches business law.
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