The second son of Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, he was admitted a solicitor in 1888. He established his own legal practice in The Strand in 1891. He was part of the legal team that defended the Marquess of Queensberry in the libel action brought by Oscar Wilde in 1895. A member of the Liberal Party, he made two unsuccessful attempts to enter parliament: at Hacnkey South in 1895 and at Salford South in December 1910.