Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2008 
Lesley Russo is Of Counsel in the Charleston office of Bowles Rice and the leader of the Employee Benefits Group. She is a member of the firm’s Retirement Plan Investment Committee and also administers the firm’s retirement plans, overseeing all aspects of the firm’s qualified retirement plans.
Ms. Russo has extensive experience in the qualified retirement and employee benefits area, representing numerous clients in all aspects of qualified and non-qualified retirement plan design, implementation and administration. She devotes a substantial part of her practice to advising clients on the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the rules necessary to maintain the qualified status of retirement plans under Internal Revenue Code § 401 et. seq. and issues arising in the day-to-day administration of such plans, including fiduciary duty issues, eligibility, vesting, contributions, funding, non-discrimination and coverage requirements, top-heavy requirements, benefits and claims review matters and disclosure and reporting requirements. She also assists clients in the preparation of documentation necessary to obtain favorable determination letters from the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, for many years Ms. Russo has assisted clients in the governmental retirement plan area with numerous special requirements and fiduciary duty obligations specific to governmental entities.
In 2013, she was named Best Lawyers’ Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Lawyer of the Year in the southern West Virginia region.
A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Ms. Russo practiced law in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1986 until September 1989 with the law firm of Palmer & Dodge, specializing in employee benefits and tax-exempt organizations. She received her undergraduate degree in 1983 from the University of New Hampshire, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree. In 2010, she received a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
She is admitted to practice in West Virginia and is a member of the West Virginia State Bar.
Ms. Russo has extensive experience in the qualified retirement and employee benefits area, representing numerous clients in all aspects of qualified and non-qualified retirement plan design, implementation and administration. She devotes a substantial part of her practice to advising clients on the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the rules necessary to maintain the qualified status of retirement plans under Internal Revenue Code § 401 et. seq. and issues arising in the day-to-day administration of such plans, including fiduciary duty issues, eligibility, vesting, contributions, funding, non-discrimination and coverage requirements, top-heavy requirements, benefits and claims review matters and disclosure and reporting requirements. She also assists clients in the preparation of documentation necessary to obtain favorable determination letters from the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, for many years Ms. Russo has assisted clients in the governmental retirement plan area with numerous special requirements and fiduciary duty obligations specific to governmental entities.
In 2013, she was named Best Lawyers’ Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law Lawyer of the Year in the southern West Virginia region.
A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Ms. Russo practiced law in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1986 until September 1989 with the law firm of Palmer & Dodge, specializing in employee benefits and tax-exempt organizations. She received her undergraduate degree in 1983 from the University of New Hampshire, where she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree. In 2010, she received a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
She is admitted to practice in West Virginia and is a member of the West Virginia State Bar.
