the same morning, Russo convinced the police to eject all of the Kay parties. Gudavadze's family then took control of the restaurant. In the court battle that followed, there was a legal question regarding whether Russo and his firm could replace Emanuel Zeltser as counsel to Little Rest Twelve. Because Russo was attempting to change the status quo, he had the burden to prove that his client owned LR12. Russo met the court's burden. He later also prevailed in his lawsuit against the Kays and the restaurant was awarded $3.7 million which the Kays had misappropriated after Badri's death. A similar corporate battle ensued with respect to the development rights to Fisher Island. When Patarkatsishvili died, Kay attempted to fire his fellow officers in Fisher Island Holdings. Kay argued that he could not be forced out of power, and during a trip to Georgia, the locks were changed to the management offices and social club. Russo, together with a team of bankruptcy and other lawyers in Florida, obtained a definitive ruling in federal court that the development rights belonged trusts that had been established by Badri for the benefit of Gudavdze and her family. Russo and his team managed to obtain a $100,000+ court sanction of Emanuel Zeltser and, in another Gudavadze asset related case, a possibly career-ending NY Supreme Court judgment that the attorney had misappropriated millions of dollars of funds held in his attorney escrow account. Personal Russo was born and raised in New York. He plays soccer and supports soccer-related endeavors. He is the President of S.C. Eintracht; a club that plays in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, and one of New York's oldest soccer clubs. Russo is also a USSF licensed coach who presently trains two adult men's amateur soccer teams. References Links Lawfirm Website Criminal defense lawyers Harvard Law School alumni Yale University alumni Litigators Corporate lawyers Cosmopolitan Soccer League