W. Russell Taber III

W. Russell Taber III

Phone: (615) 320-3700 ext. 152 - rtaber@rjfirm.com

Russell Taber primarily practices in the area of trial and appellate civil litigation on behalf of individual and corporate clients with a focus on resolution of business disputes. His clients’ cases have involved breach of contract, business torts and unfair competition, information privacy and data theft, healthcare, intellectual property and entertainment, shareholder disputes and business separations, commercial and residential real estate, and other subjects. He counsels and advises in-house legal departments on eDiscovery and other issues.

Two law schools have used his book Electronic Discovery in Tennessee: Rules, Case Law and Distinctions as a textbook. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee largely adopted as Administrative Order No. 174-1 proposed revisions to the Court's Default Standard on eDiscovery prepared by a drafting committee he chaired.

Russell has taught Cyber Law at the Belmont University College of Law and eDiscovery at the Nashville School of Law. He also holds a CIPP-US certification, a non-legal certification provided by the IAPP for information privacy professionals.

Russell is a member of the Local Rules Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. He has co-chaired the Nashville Bar Association Federal Court Committee, is a Fellow of the Nashville Bar Foundation, and has been a member of a Federal Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel and of the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law program. Earlier in his career, the Nashville Business Journal recognized Russell as one of Nashville’s Top 40 Under 40. He is AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Prior to joining Riley & Jacobson, Russell served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. At Vanderbilt Law School, Russell was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review, the Order of the Coif, and the Moot Court Board. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown University with a B. A. degree.

News, Publications and Speaking Engagements:

Co-Presenter – Artificial Intelligence & the Law: Specific Uses, presentation for a regional law firm (July 18, 2024).

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- Presenter - How to Get Email, Social Media and Other ESI in - and Keep Theirs Out, National Business Institute (Nov. 17, 2017).
- Presenter - Ethical Considerations for ESI, National Business Institute (Nov. 17, 2017).
- Presenter - Obtaining and Using Cell Phone Records, Tennessee Attorneys Memo Webinar (Nov. 2, 2017).
- Presenter - Social Media and How to Get ESI Into Evidence, National Business Institute, Nashville and Knoxville, TN (Aug. 4 and 8, 2017).
- Presenter - Hot eDiscovery Issues Facing Law Firms, Association of Legal Administrators, Nashville Chapter (May 17, 2017).
- Presenter - Email, Social Media, Texts, and Video: How to Find and Use Electronic Evidence to Win Your Case, Tennessee Attorneys Memo Webinar (Apr. 20, 2017).
- Co-Presenter - Legal Ethics & ESI, National Business Institute (Dec. 16, 2016).
- Presenter - What to Look for, Where to Find it and What to do With it: Email, Social Media, Texts and Video, National Business Institute (Dec. 16, 2016).
- Co-Presenter - Data Breach and Privacy Law, Tennessee Attorneys Memo Conference (Nov. 17, 2016).
- Panelist - A Lawyer's Ethical Duties Regarding Electronically Stored Information, Harry Phillips American Inn of Court (Nov. 15, 2016).
- Panelist - How Courts Have Applied the 2015 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, NBA Advanced Federal Court Practice (Nov. 3, 2016).
- Panelist - Impact of Corporate Governance on Corporations and Law Firms, Nashtech Conference (Oct. 13, 2016).
- Co-Presenter - Cellular Information in Tennessee: Obtaining and Admitting in Litigation, Tennessee Attorneys Memo Webinar (May 25, 2016).
- Presenter - Data Breach and Privacy Law: What Tennessee Attorneys Must Know, Tennessee Attorneys Memo Webinar (Apr. 26, 2016).
- Presenter - Alternatives to Written Discovery, Tennessee Bar Association (Apr. 7, 2016).
- Presenter - Handling Social Media, E-Mail, and Other ESI, Attorney Technology Conference of Tennessee Attorneys Memo (Dec. 11, 2015).
- Co-Presenter - Amendments to Federal E-Discovery Rules Take Effect December 1: Are You Ready?, Tennessee Attorneys Memo Webinar (Dec. 1, 2015).
- Presenter - E-Discovery Latest Developments and Cases, Murfreesboro Downtown Barristers Lions Club (Aug. 11, 2015).
- Presenter - E-Discovery in Tennessee: Where We Are and Where We Are Going, Tennessee Attorneys Memo Webinar (May 27, 2015).
- Panelist - Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Policies, Women in eDiscovery, Nashville Chapter (May 14, 2015).
- Presenter - E-Discovery: Latest Developments & Case Law Update, TBA Law Tech UnConference (Feb. 26, 2015).
- Panelist - Lawyers Without Borders - Social Media Ethical Considerations in Entertainment and Sports Law, NBA Annual Entertainment Law in Review (Dec. 3, 2014).
- Moderator - Hot Topics in Healthcare Law: Compliance, Information Security and eDiscovery, TSCPA Healthcare Conference (Dec. 2, 2014).
- Presenter - E-Discovery: Trick or Treat? TSCPA Southeastern Forensic & Valuation Services Conference (Oct. 27, 2014).
- Panelist - E-Discovery in Tennessee, Belmont Law Inn of Court (Oct. 14, 2014).
- Presenter - Local E-Discovery Rules and Default Standards in Tennessee, Tennessee Bar Association Federal Practice Seminar (July 11, 2014).
- Presenter - E-Discovery: Case Law Update and Proposed Rule Changes, Tennessee Bar Association Law Tech unConference (Feb. 20, 2014).
- Panelist - Possible Revisions to Administrative Order No. 174, The Prometheus Project (Nov. 6, 2013).
- Presenter - The Latest E-Discovery Precautions, Risks and Advice, National Business Institute (Oct. 30, 2013).
- Presenter - Proportionality in eDiscovery, Federal Practice Seminar 2013, Tennessee Bar Association (July 12, 2013).
- Panelist - Electronic Discovery: Representing Corporate Clients, Law Practice Today Expo, Knoxville Bar Association (Apr. 12, 2013).
- Interview - eDiscovery in Tennessee - eDiscovery Trends, eDiscovery Daily Blog (Oct. 30, 2012).
- Author - Electronic Discovery in Tennessee: Rules, Case Law and Distinctions (Aug. 4, 2012).
- Presenter - Social Media & Email Evidence Admissibility Issues, Federal Practice Seminar 2012, Tennessee Bar Association (July 13, 2012).
- Facilitator - Electronic Discovery in the Middle District of Tennessee, Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, Middle District of Tennessee Session (Apr. 27, 2012).
- Author - Reviewing E-Discovery Model Orders as Administrative Order No. 174 Turns Five, Nashville B.J., vol. 12, no. 2, 8 (Mar. 2012).
- Author - Bending the American Rule: 'Pullman' Decision Allows Third-Party Litigation Expenses in Tennessee, 46 Tenn. B. J. 10 (Aug. 2010) (Cover Story).
- Author - The Reexamination Clause: Exploring Bifurcation in Mass Tort Litigation, 73 Def. Counsel J. 63 (2006).
- Author - Special Project: Current Issues in Intellectual Property, 58 Vand. L. Rev. 851 (2005).
- Author - Copyright Déjà Vu: A New Definition of "Publication" Under the Copyright Act of 1909, 58 Vand. L. Rev. 857 (2005).