Russell D. Babb

Russell Babb is a partner in the firm’s criminal section 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 also recently elected by his peers to be the President of the Tenth Judicial District Bar for 2021.