Russell S. "Russ" Warner

Russell S. Warner is the Managing Partner of the law firm of MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton LLP in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is the Chairman of the firm's Business Department and the past Chairman of the firm's Environmental Group. He concentrates his practice in the areas of business and environmental law, including matters involving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, as well as matters before the USEPA Environmental Appeals Board and the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board.

Mr. Warner's practice includes representation of businesses, financial institutions and municipal entities regarding business and environmental matters, as well as acquisitions, capital projects, real estate development projects, and financing transactions.

Mr. Warner graduated from Harvard University, cum laude, in 1978, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, summa cum laude, in 1981, where he ranked first in his class and served on the editorial staff of the Law Review. His honors and awards include the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Barristers. After graduation from law school, he served as a judicial law clerk to Judge W.W. Knox of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and to Judge D. K. Sloviter of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Warner served as the President of the Erie County Bar Association for 2003, and has also served as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates.Mr. Warner's environmental organization memberships have included the Air & Waste Management Association, the Manufacturer's Association of Northwest Pennsylvania Environmental Roundtable, and PADEP's Public Advisory Committee for the Presque Isle Bay/Erie Harbor Remedial Action Plan. He also has served on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and as Secretary of the Erie County Water Resources Commission.

Mr. Warner's community activities have included serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Erie Community Foundation, service on the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Corporation of Erie County, and as President of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership.