Angela Russell is the regional managing partner of the Baltimore office and chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee. She has significant trial experience and has tried cases in the District of Columbia and across the state of Maryland. Her practice encompasses the defense of professional liability matters, including medical malpractice and legal malpractice actions in addition to claims against agents, brokers and other professionals. Angela regularly handles and supervises general casualty matters for insurers and self-insured entities on premises liability claims, security matters, hospitality cases and recreational defense claims. Angela is also frequently called on to handle toxic tort matters.
Angela possesses an innate ability to connect with her clients, identify their needs and communicate effectively throughout the litigation cycle. Her rapport in the courtroom is equally impressive. An aggressive litigator, Angela is adept at tapping the persistence, preparation and training she gained early on in a variety of public speaking engagements and tackling two marathons. Angela worked at prominent defense firms in Minnesota and Washington, DC, prior to joining Wilson Elser.
Professional Distinctions
Angela is the former co-chairperson of the Civil Jury Instructions Committee for the Bar Association for the District of Columbia as well as a former adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN.
View Angela's exemplar trial experience.
Areas of Focus
Medical Malpractice
Angela's practice includes the defense of medical malpractice actions on behalf of insurance companies, health maintenance organizations and individual physicians. In addition, she has handled health care matters unrelated to litigation. She has also been a speaker at several seminars on medical malpractice and other areas of insurance defense.
Casualty
Angela’s practice includes claims involving issues of premises liability, trucking and automobile liability, many of which involve catastrophic personal injuries and property damage. She has successfully tried cases involving general liability claims throughout Maryland and in the District of Columbia.
Hospitality & Restaurants
Angela regularly defends claims and offers advice to hotels, resorts, restaurants, outdoor recreational companies, condominiums and other hospitality-related developers and retailers. She defends such entities on a wide variety of legal issues.
Recreational Defense
Angela has represented major league sports organizations and large entertainment arenas in connection with issues of crowd control, injuries to patrons and security matters at public venues. Angela also has handled cases involving injuries to children at amusement parks and at swimming pools.
Professional Liability/E&O
Angela handles professional liability cases involving lawyers on a broad spectrum of underlying matters and areas of practice that often lead to malpractice claims. She also defends insurance agencies and agents in connection with claims brought by insureds regarding coverage and payment issues. Angela has also worked with accountants, engineers, land surveyors and architects in the defense of liability claims.
Toxic Tort
In the area of toxic torts, Angela has experience with handling a variety of environmental claims, including lead paint, carbon monoxide and asbestos.
Representative Matters
Medical Negligence
Represented several healthcare providers in defense of a negligence claim concerning an amniocentesis report. The plaintiff alleged more than $9 million in economic losses for the birth of a profoundly disabled child. A Baltimore City jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants.
Represented a radiologist in a failure to diagnose breast cancer case in which the plaintiff alleged that the failure to diagnose resulted in a delay in treatment. The ultimate, more aggressive treatment caused damage to her heart, which resulted in a heart transplant. The District of Columbia jury returned a defense verdict.
Represented a cardiothoracic surgeon who participated in the management of a perforated esophagus in a woman who remained in the hospital in a comatose state for approximately six months. After a two-week trial, the District of Columbia jury returned a defense verdict.
General Casualty
Obtained a jury defense verdict in a case involving allegations of negligent security against a nightclub and its owner in which a patron had been stabbed and assaulted in the District of Columbia.
Represented a national property owner in litigation involving an elevator accident in which the plaintiff alleged significant injuries to her foot. After a two-week trial in the District of Columbia, the jury returned a defense verdict.
Obtained a defense verdict in a nursing home matter where a resident alleged that she was assaulted by the staff. The case was tried in Montgomery County, MD.
Obtained a defense verdict in Baltimore City Circuit Court where the plaintiff alleged that her hip was dislocated due to the negligence of the hospital and its care providers.