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Meet Russell D. Babb

Criminal Defense
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Russell D. Babb
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Biography

Russell Babb is a co-managing partner of Tharrington Smith and is widely recognized as one of North Carolina’s top criminal defense attorneys. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996, where he was a Morehead Scholar and captain of the Carolina football team.  Mr. Babb was a four-year starter as an offensive lineman for the Tar Heels and was also the winner of the 1995 Jim Tatum Award, which is presented each year to the top Senior Scholar-Athlete in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  In 1999, Mr. Babb graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law where he participated in the UNC Criminal Law Clinic and was president of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity.  Prior to joining Tharrington Smith in 2010, he worked as a civil litigator and as an Assistant Public Defender in Wake County.

In addition to his extensive work defending clients in state court, Mr. Babb has also practiced in federal court and is admitted in the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  Mr. Babb has been very active in bar service since joining Tharrington Smith.  He was elected to a three-year term on the Wake County Bar Association’s Board of Directors and was appointed to the Tenth Judicial District’s Grievance Committee. Mr. Babb was elected by his peers to be the 2021 President of the Tenth Judicial District Bar, and more recently to serve as a State Bar Councilor, for a three-year term starting in 2026.

Credentials

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law

  • Juris Doctor, 1999
  • UNC Criminal Law Clinic
  • President of the Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • BA in Political Science, 1996
  • Morehead Scholar
  • Co-captain of the 1995 Carolina football team
  • Winner of the 1995 Jim Tatum Award (Top Senior Scholar in the ACC)
  • All ACC Academic First Team, 1995
  • Outstanding Offensive Lineman, 1995
  • ACC Weaver James Postgraduate Scholarship, 1996

Memberships and Admissions

  • North Carolina State Bar, admitted 1999
  • U.S. District Court of Eastern District of NC
  • U.S. District Court of Middle District of NC
  • U.S. District Court of Western District of NC
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • Wake County Bar Association
  • 10th Judicial District Bar
  • Wake County Academy of Criminal Trial Lawyers
  • North Carolina Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section Member
  • North Carolina Advocates for Justice
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • American Bar Association
Experience
  • State Bar Councilor, elected to three-year term, 2026
  • President of the 10th Judicial District Bar, 2021
  • President-Elect of the 10th Judicial District Bar, 2020
  • Wake County Bar Association Board of Directors; elected to three year term, 2014-2016
  • 10th Judicial District Bar Grievance Committee; appointed to three year term, 2018-2020
  • Strategic Planning Committee, appointed twice, 2015 and 2018
Awards & Honors
  • Co-Managing Partner of Tharrington Smith, L.L.P., 2024 – present
  • Best Lawyers in America© for Criminal Defense: General Practice, 2018-2026 and Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2021-2026
  • Super Lawyers®, Criminal Defense, 2021-2026
  • Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” Hall of Fame in Criminal Law, 2025
  • Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” in Criminal Law, 2012, 2015-2024
  • AV Preeminent Peer Reviewed Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell, 2016-2025
  • AVVO Clients Choice Award, 2016-2022, 2025 & 2026
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2016 – present

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