After a nationwide search,
the Port of San Diego has hired away Port of Los Angeles general counsel Thomas
A. Russell to be its chief attorney, replacing the retired Duane Bennett.
Russell currently heads
the Harbor Division of the Los Angeles Office of the City Attorney, where he oversees
all litigation involving the Port of L.A. He’s been with the office since November
2002, when he was appointed by then-City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.
He said he hadn’t planned
on changing jobs, but was recruited for the position during the port’s national
search.
Russell’s a member of the
American Association of Port Authorities Law Review Committee and chaired the American
Bar Association’s Subcommittee on Maritime Financing from 1994-2002. A California
native, he is a graduate of University of Southern California’s Law School and earned
his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Board of Port Commissioners
Chair said Lou Smith said the port was “delighted to welcome an attorney of Tom’s
caliber and breadth of relevant experience to the Port of San Diego.”
He starts his new job in
San Diego in early December.
Bennett, the man Russell
replaces, retired in November 2011 after eight and a half years on the job. Another
port attorney, Celia Brewer, has been serving as interim general counsel.
