Areas of Practice
Civil litigation
Tax
Business
Estate Planning
Successions
Russell J. Stutes, III
Russell "Russ" J. Stutes, III recently began his legal career as an associate attorney at Stutes & Lavergne. Raised in Lake Charles, Russ graduated from St. Louis Catholic High School in 2010. He earned his B.S. in Accounting from LSU in 2015. While at LSU, Russ held various jobs in the Baton Rouge area and helped underprivileged individuals file their yearly tax returns. Russ then graduated from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 2018 to obtain his J.D. While in law school, he spent a summer in the LSU Law Abroad program where he attended classes in Lyon, France. On campus, Russ held various positions on the Student Bar Association every year of law school, including 1L Class Representative, SBA Executive Treasurer, and SBA Executive Vice-President. He also participated in the National Tax Moot Court Competition twice, where his team reached the quarterfinals and placed 4th overall in addition to receiving Runner-up Best Brief. He dedicates the majority of his practice to tax and commercial litigation, but also assists clients in general business law, estate planning, and successions matters. He maintains a seat on the board of the Young Lawyers Section of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association. Outside of the office, Russ is married to another lifelong Lake Charles resident, Marissa Fraser Stutes. They spend their free time cheering on the LSU Tigers, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. Bar Admissions Louisiana, 2018 Court Admissions U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Western District of Louisiana Federal Court Eastern District of Louisiana Federal Court Education Louisiana State University Law Center J.D., 2018 Louisiana State University B.S. – 2015 Major: Accounting