by Jackie Nunnery
LANCASTER—Former practicing attorney John B. Russell Jr. on September 17 was sentenced to six months and fined $2,500 in Lancaster Circuit Court after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of practicing as an attorney without a license.
Russell, whose office was in Midlothian, had his law license suspended for two years by the Virginia State Disciplinary Board (VSDB) for ethical violations in November 2019. According to a VSDB order, when Russell failed to comply with the required notifications to clients, opposing attorneys and judges about his status and continued to seek clients through a practice website, they suspended his license for an additional three years effective August 28, 2020.
In December of 2019, Russell also continued to represent clients in Lancaster County Circuit Court, which resulted in the charge brought against him by direct indictment from Lancaster County Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony Spencer…
