Russell Baker | Rockford Business Lawyer

Russell was born and lived in Scottsdale, Arizona for the first 22 years of his life. In 1997, he attended college at the University of Arizona, majoring in Finance.  In 2001, after obtaining his B.S. in Business Finance degree from the University of Arizona, he began working as a financial analyst for a growing telecommunications company.  Through his work as a financial analyst, he learned that there was often a large overlap of financial and legal issues in finding solutions to the business and financial problems regularly faced by companies and individuals.  It was this realization led him go back to school and obtain his legal education.

Russell attended law school in Los Angeles, California and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Southwestern University School of Law in 2005.  While in law school, he was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work as an extern clerk for the Honorable Judge George P. Schiavelli of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.  After graduating law school, Russell moved to Illinois.  From 2006 to 2012, he worked for an established law firm out of Crystal Lake, Illinois serving McHenry, Lake, Winnebago, Kane, and Cook Counties.  During that time, he litigated multimillion dollar actions in state and federal court, successfully defended clients at trial ranging from financial institutions and manufacturers to individuals and family farmers, and advised and protected his clients on employment and contract related matters.

In August of 2012, Russell joined Barrick, Switzer, Long, Balsley & Van Evera, LLP  and he, his wife Nicole, and daughter Josie moved to the Rockford area.  Since then he has enjoyed serving his clients in the areas of civil litigation, corporate and business planning, commercial litigation, employment, and bankruptcy. In 2014, Russ and Nicole welcomed the birth of their son, Ryan, to their family.

Position	Organization	Location	Duration
Attorney	Barrick, Switzer, Long, Balsley & Van Evera		Present
Attorney	Campion, Curran, Lamb, & Cunnabaugh, P.C.		2006-2012

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
Southwestern University School of Law	J.D.	Law School	2005
University of Arizona	Bachelor of Science	Finance	2001

State / Court	Date
Illinois	2006
Arizona	2005

• Winnebago County Bar Association | Co-chair - Commercial Litigation |  2015 - Present
  Roscoe Chamber of Commerce | Board Member | 2015 - Present

• CALI Award for Excellence in Contracts | CALI Excellence for the Future | 2004

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