Russell Dunning

Russell Dunning has over 41 years of experience as a lawyer in both the public and private sectors. He began his career as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Law Fellow, working first in the Bedford-Stuyvesant office of the New York Legal Aid Society where he represented tenants seeking safer and more sanitary conditions. In his second year as a Fellow, he worked at the Harvard Center for Law and Education focusing on the school desegregation case United States v. Texas. He was also the attorney principally responsible for working with Native American groups seeking better public school education for Native American children.

Russell then moved to Greater Boston Legal Services, where he focused on issues faced by juveniles charged with various offenses as well as issues related to children in foster care. He went on to co-found Cotter & Dunning, a small general practice law firm of former GBLS attorneys. Russell later went on to Posternak, Blankstein & Lund, LLP, where he represented clients in large and medium-sized commercial acquisition, sale, and financing of real estate transactions. He also served as Chairman of the Real Estate Department for several years.

As an Access to Justice Fellow, Russell will be working with Greater Boston Legal Services assisting attorneys with real estate matters. He will be dealing with issues including foreclosures of clients’ residences, loan modifications for clients who are unable to fully satisfy their current loan requirements and the repurchase of homes by clients who lost their homes through foreclosure, using funds provided by nonprofit lenders.