Erick A. Russell of Pullman & Comley Honored by ABA with "On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers" Award

June 17, 2020

BRIDGEPORT, Conn., June 18, 2020:  Erick A. Russell, an attorney in the Government Finance practice at Pullman & Comley has been named to the American Bar Association’s 2020 "On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyers" Award program. The award provides “national recognition of ABA Young Lawyers Division members who exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership, and service to the profession and their communities,” says the ABA in a statement.

“We at Pullman & Comley are incredibly pleased that Erick has been recognized at such a high level, though not we are not in the least bit surprised,” says Pullman & Comley Chairman James T. Shearin. “Erick is a leader in every sense of the word and in every aspect of his life and has made, and will continue to make, a positive impact on the Connecticut legal, governmental, business and civic community. We are extremely fortunate to have him as part of our team.”

At Pullman & Comley, Erick represents state and municipal governments in the issuance of tax-exempt and taxable bonds and other debt obligations. In addition, he represents issuers of 501(c)(3) bonds, qualified private activity bonds, revenue bonds and conduit borrowings.

Erick has been recognized for his leadership throughout the state and recently assumed the role of Eastern Region Vice Chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party. He is also an active member of the Democratic National Committee.

“Erick possesses all of the stellar qualities necessary to help move our communities, state and nation forward,” said Nancy Wyman, a member of the Democratic National Committee and former State Democratic Party Chair. “His long-standing contributions to his community, combined with his dedication to his career and the field of justice, serve as an inspiration to all.”

Erick has shown and continues to show, a passion for civic and community involvement and uses his skills to make the Connecticut community a better place. Erick is a past chair of the LGBT section of the Connecticut Bar Association, and since 2014 has served as a co-chair of the annual Lambda Legal “Connecticut Cares” event which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Lambda’s work in assuring equality for LGBTQ persons across the country. He is an active participant in the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, currently sits on its board, and was the recipient of its “Rising Leader” award in 2019. In addition, Erick has been a leading member of the Lawyer’s Collaborative for Diversity, a group of law firms, in-house legal departments, state governmental lawyers and law school representatives dedicated to increasing diversity in Connecticut’s legal community.

“Erick does more than attend events and participate in meetings,” says Shearin. “He is active in the outreach of organizations, and Erick is a driving force behind the Firm’s Diversity and Recruiting Committees.” Within the past year, Erick was named to the Fairfield County Business Journal “40 under 40” list and was honored by the University of Connecticut Alumni Association with the “Graduates of the Last Decade Impact Award.”  Additionally, he has been named to the Super Lawyers "Connecticut Rising Stars" in the area of government finance since 2015.

About Pullman & Comley:

Pullman & Comley celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019 and is one of Connecticut’s largest firms, providing a wide range of legal services to clients in the New England region, as well as throughout the United States and internationally. Pullman & Comley’s major practice areas include business organizations and finance; environmental and land use; government finance; health care; labor, employment law and employee benefits; litigation and alternative dispute resolution; family law; property tax and valuation; real estate; regulatory, energy and telecommunications; and trusts and estates. The firm has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, Stamford, Waterbury and Westport Connecticut; Springfield, Massachusetts; and White Plains, New York. The firm is an active member of the Law Firm Alliance, an international affiliation of law firms. For more information, please visit www.pullcom.com.