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ChristianeRoussellSelectedasOneofNationalBarAssoc.Top40Under40LosAngelesSentinel|LosAngelesSentinel|AfricanAmericanNews

Christiane Roussell Selected as One of National Bar

Assoc. Top 40 Under 40
By Sentinel Staff Report
Published June 27, 2011

Christiane (Chrissy) Roussell, Esq. has been selected by the National Bar Association as
one of the top 40 lawyers under the age of 40 in the United States for 2011.
Founded in 1925, the NBA is the oldest, largest national association of African-American
lawyers and judges.
The objectives of the NBA include promoting legislation that will improve the economic
condition of all American citizens, regardless of race, sex or creed in their efforts to secure a
free and untrammeled use of the franchise guaranteed by the Constitution of the United
States and protecting the civil and political rights of the citizens and residents of the United
States.
Each year, nearly 200 names of lawyers under age 40 are submitted by colleagues to the
NBA for consideration. After all of the applications have been reviewed and the selection
has been made, 40 young lawyers emerge as the best in the nation. To be on this list is
indeed an honor.
Roussell is a native of Los Angeles and attended Marlborough School in Hancock Park.
She then graduated cum laude from Georgetown University and returned home to attend
USC Gould School of Law. Roussell is a fifth-year attorney at Hunton & Williams LLP in Los
Angeles. Her practice focuses exclusively on complex and single-plaintiff labor and
employment litigation.
She also provides human resources and employment-related counseling and training. In
addition, Roussell has a strong commitment to pro bono work. She has represented and
counseled families through the adoption process. She also has experience representing
California state inmates serving life sentences in parole hearings before the California
Board of Parole Hearings and in habeas proceedings, which she began as a student at USC
Gould School of Law in its Post-Conviction Justice Project and has continued as a practicing
attorney. At Hunton, Roussell serves on the office Pro Bono Committee and Associates
Advisory Committee. Outside of the firm, she is an officer and board member of the John
M. Langston Bar Association as Parliamentarian and Chair of African-American Attorneys in
Downtown Firms (AAADF). AAADF was formed in the late 1980s with the mission of
providing support to the small number of African-American attorneys in large firms in
downtown Los Angeles. It has since mushroomed into a facet of the Langston Bar
Association that supports attorneys in a wide array of firms throughout the greater Los
Angeles area.
As AAADF Chair for the past three years, Roussell has coordinated a variety of workshops,
including those focused on mental health and substance abuse prevention, financial
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ChristianeRoussellSelectedasOneofNationalBarAssoc.Top40Under40LosAngelesSentinel|LosAngelesSentinel|AfricanAmericanNews

planning, how to find time for community service, starting your own firm, going in-house,
becoming a law professor, becoming a judge, and tips on how to be an indispensable
associate. She has also coordinated AAADFs annual summer cocktail reception and
summer dinner to acknowledge and support African American summer associates and law
clerks.
Roussell is also on the board of the California Young Lawyers Association, a California State
Bar Section. She serves on the Communications and MCLE Committees, creating
networking opportunities and MCLE workshops for young attorneys through the state.
Roussell was recently appointed to the Barristers Executive Committee of the Los Angeles
County Bar Association. She is also an active member of Black Women Lawyers of Los
Angeles. Outside of the legal realm, Roussell is a member of the Los Angeles Chapters of
The Links, Incorporated and The Smart Set, both of which are long-standing, well-respected
national service organizations for African-American women.
Congratulations are certainly in order for this remarkable young lawyer. It is clear that she
knows no glass ceiling. The 2011 Top 40 Under 40 will be celebrated on July 31, 2011 at the
NBAs 86th Annual Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. Now that the 2011 class is set,
voting for the five individual awards has started. Roussell is seeking the Excellence in
Service Award, fitting based on her demonstrated commitment to service to her
community. Voting will be open until June 27, 2011. In order to cast your vote for this
deserving young lawyer for the Excellence in Service Award, you may visit
http://www.nationsbestadvocates.com/nominees.php.

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