12/17/2015 Christiane Roussell Selected as One of National Bar Assoc. Top 40 Under 40 ­ Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentinel | African­American News

http://lasentinel.net/christiane­roussell­selected­as­one­of­national­bar­assoc­top­40­under­40.html 1/2

Published June 27, 2011

Christiane Roussell Selected as One of National BarAssoc. Top 40 Under 40

By Sentinel Staff Report

Christiane (“Chrissy”) Roussell, Esq. has been selected by the National Bar Association asone 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-Americanlawyers and judges. 

The objectives of the NBA include promoting legislation that will improve the economiccondition of all American citizens, regardless of race, sex or creed in their efforts to secure afree and untrammeled use of the franchise guaranteed by the Constitution of the UnitedStates and protecting the civil and political rights of the citizens and residents of the UnitedStates.

Each year, nearly 200 names of lawyers under age 40 are submitted by colleagues to theNBA for consideration.  After all of the applications have been reviewed and the selectionhas been made, 40 young lawyers emerge as the best in the nation.  To be on this list isindeed 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 attendUSC Gould School of Law. Roussell is a fifth-year attorney at Hunton & Williams LLP in LosAngeles.  Her practice focuses exclusively on complex and single-plaintiff labor andemployment litigation.

She also provides human resources and employment-related counseling and training.  Inaddition, Roussell has a strong commitment to pro bono work. She has represented andcounseled families through the adoption process.  She also has experience representingCalifornia state inmates serving life sentences in parole hearings before the CaliforniaBoard of Parole Hearings and in habeas proceedings, which she began as a student at USCGould School of Law in its Post-Conviction Justice Project and has continued as a practicingattorney.  At Hunton, Roussell serves on the office Pro Bono Committee and AssociatesAdvisory Committee.  Outside of the firm, she is an officer and board member of the JohnM. Langston Bar Association as Parliamentarian and Chair of African-American Attorneys inDowntown Firms (AAADF).  AAADF was formed in the late 1980’s with the mission ofproviding support to the small number of African-American attorneys in large firms indowntown Los Angeles. It has since mushroomed into a facet of the Langston BarAssociation that supports attorneys in a wide array of firms throughout the greater LosAngeles 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

12/17/2015 Christiane Roussell Selected as One of National Bar Assoc. Top 40 Under 40 ­ Los Angeles Sentinel | Los Angeles Sentinel | African­American News

http://lasentinel.net/christiane­roussell­selected­as­one­of­national­bar­assoc­top­40­under­40.html 2/2

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 indispensableassociate.  She has also coordinated AAADF’s annual summer cocktail reception andsummer dinner to acknowledge and support African American summer associates and lawclerks.

Roussell is also on the board of the California Young Lawyers Association, a California StateBar Section.  She serves on the Communications and MCLE Committees, creatingnetworking opportunities and MCLE workshops for young attorneys through the state. Roussell was recently appointed to the Barristers Executive Committee of the Los AngelesCounty Bar Association.  She is also an active member of Black Women Lawyers of LosAngeles.  Outside of the legal realm, Roussell is a member of the Los Angeles Chapters ofThe Links, Incorporated and The Smart Set, both of which are long-standing, well-respectednational service organizations for African-American women.

Congratulations are certainly in order for this remarkable young lawyer.  It is clear that sheknows no glass ceiling.  The 2011 Top 40 Under 40 will be celebrated on July 31, 2011 at theNBA’s 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 inService Award, fitting based on her demonstrated commitment to service to hercommunity.  Voting will be open until June 27, 2011.  In order to cast your vote for thisdeserving young lawyer for the Excellence in Service Award, you may visithttp://www.nationsbestadvocates.com/nominees.php.

Categories: News (Family)

© 2015 Los Angeles Sentinel All Rights Reserved • A Bakewell Media Publication

Contact Us • About • Media Kit • Corrections & Misprints

Privacy Policy • Terms of Service

LA Watts Times • Taste of Soul