Russell_Whitney

Whitney Russell

Russell_Whitney

Whitney Russell

Partner

Washington DC + 1 202 663 6510

Whitney Russell advises leading individual and corporate clients facing complex regulatory, litigation and reputational challenges, and has served as lead counsel in more than 25 trials in federal and state courts. She specializes in counseling high-profile technology and media companies on identifying and mitigating criminal or compliance risks in their products and services and aligning their practices with evolving legal obligations, government regulations and risk appetites. She has a particular focus on child safety and preventing sexual exploitation. Her work spans regulatory inquiries, internal assessments and litigation, including representation in high-profile teen mental health litigation involving social media. 

Ms. Russell also advises clients on the development and deployment of generative AI technologies, with a focus on preventing and identifying child exploitation, illegal content, fraud and weapons trafficking.  

Ms. Russell previously served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Cybercrime Unit of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, where she led complex investigations involving national security, fraud and child exploitation. These included major international operations such as Operation Pacifier, a groundbreaking investigation that dismantled one of the world’s largest dark web child exploitation networks, and Operation Subterfuge, a multi-jurisdictional effort targeting online child sexual abuse rings operating across encrypted platforms. 

She also served as a Special Assistant US Attorney in the Criminal Division of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.  

She currently serves on the board of the Center for Alexandria’s Children, an organization that aims to prevent child abuse and houses a Child Advocacy Center that brings together police, social workers, therapists, medical teams, advocates and lawyers to investigate reports of abuse or crimes against children. 

Recognition

  • Received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service for her work on Operation Pacifier 
  • Received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for her work on Operation Subterfuge
  • Received the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency’s Award for Excellence in Investigation for her work on United States v. Skydance MacMahon

Insights & News

View all of Whitney's insights & news

Credentials

  • Education

    • JD, Columbia University School of Law, 2007

      Notes Editor, Human Rights Law Review, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar

    • MSc, University of Oxford, 2004

      Distinction on master’s thesis 

    • BA, Critical Social Thought, Mount Holyoke College, 2003

  • Admissions

    • District of Columbia

    • New York

    • Virginia

    • US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

    • US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

    • US District Court for the District of Columbia

    • US District Court for the Eastern District of New York

    • US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

    • US District Court for the Southern District of New York

    • US District Court for the Western District of Virginia

  • Government Experience

    • Department of Justice

      United States Attorney's Office

      Assistant United States Attorney, The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia

    • Department of Justice

      United States Attorney's Office

      Special Assistant United States Attorney, The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia

Credentials

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