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Russell King spoke with Modern Counsel two days shy of his 10th anniversary with his husband, Bryan. The couple has been together for two decades, and their son, Wesley, had just finished first grade. King says the occasion was a moment to reflect on the fact that, in many ways, his family is a small miracle.
“I think about my family, about how when I was growing up, families like mine couldn’t legally exist,” says King, who is the senior counsel for commercial litigation at McDonald’s Corporation. “There was no right for two men to marry. We couldn’t have had Wesley via a surrogate and an egg donor or had certainty that he legally belonged to us.
“I try to remember every day how blessed we are to live in this time and place. So many legal advocates and pioneers fought in courts and in the court of public opinion so that I could enjoy these rights. That’s why I feel like I need to pay it forward. The fight goes on, and I know I need to be part of it, because I’m a beneficiary of how far that fight has come.”
At McDonald’s, King serves on the legal department’s diversity, equity, and inclusion committee and also chairs its inclusion subcommittee. In this capacity, King creates and strengthens relationships with outside counsel.
He says finding lawyers of differing experience and background is just good business. The company is working to overcome the familiarity bias. Knowingly or not, people can keep sourcing the same kind of talent from the same schools and backgrounds.
“When it comes time to staff a new case, it’s easiest to call that attorney who comes to mind—that you’ve worked with a dozen times before,” King says. “We’re trying to find ways to disrupt those patterns and cast a wider net so that when that time comes, you’re thinking about a broader selection of talented attorneys.”
King works regularly with the National Association of Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), including speaking on panels, networking at conferences, and, most importantly, sourcing new talent.
When looking for an existing resource that identified LGBTQ+ legal talent, King soon realized he’d need to start from scratch. Over the past two years, he’s partnered with the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association to develop a directory.
“That list didn’t exist before,” King says. “It does now. And I’m really glad we partnered together to create it.”
King says an organization as large as McDonald’s is especially aware of its capacity for using its scale and influence to create impact in the legal community. The lawyer says McDonald’s is thoughtful about increasing its engagement and relationship building with diverse-owned suppliers and diverse partners.
Outside of driving change in the legal community, King has a well-established history of trying to make life better for those who need it most. The lawyer has done pro bono immigration work on behalf of the National Immigrant Justice Center. That work has included representing detained asylum seekers and acting as counsel for those who have nowhere else to turn.
All this work, King says, is passing on the legacy of the mock trial coaches who took time away from their law careers to mentor King and the rest of his high school team. They were lawyers with cases and careers who still showed up every Monday night to help King discover his own passion for litigation. In so many ways, King understands that he’s part of a broader community, one that is strengthened through mentorship and advocacy. He is the change he wants to see in the world.
A Wild Wild Sabbatical
Remember that six-part documentary you binged on Netflix about a cult that takes over a small town in Oregon? When Wild Wild Country debuted on the streaming service in 2018, Russell King was so interested in the whole story that he tried to track down the definitive book on the subject. There was just one problem: There wasn’t one. Accounts were either highly subjective, biased, or a healthy mix of both.
King, on a sabbatical of sorts before deciding to go in-house at McDonald’s, decided to put his time off to use. He secured a literary agent and publishing contract to write Rajneeshpuram: Inside the Cult of Bhagwan and Its Failed American Utopia. The directors of Wild Wild Country call King’s work the “most definitive account of this grand American saga.”
The lawyer says he’s happy to talk about the time he took off between his private practice days and going in-house. He wasn’t entirely sure that in-house life made sense for him, but after writing the book, he found the right organization for him at McDonald’s. Big decisions can take time, and that is OK.
“Rusty is an exceptional lawyer. He has an excellent grasp of complex issues and communicates solutions effectively. We always look forward to working with him.”
–Paul Ferak, Shareholder
“Russell is the kind of lawyer that makes our profession better. He promotes partnership, encourages creativity from his team and outside counsel providers, and celebrates collective success. Working with Russell is truly an honor.”
–Nipun Patel, Partner
