HomeAlaskaAnchorageRussell Winner

About Russell Winner

Russ Winner graduated from Stanford University in 1970 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1975. He has been practicing law in Alaska since 1978, and he is an experienced civil trial lawyer in both the federal and state courts. Russ is active in the Native Law, Natural Resources/Environmental Law, and Intellectual Property Law Sections of the Alaska Bar Association. He served on the Bar Examiners' Committee of the Alaska Bar Association. Russ has taught numerous seminars and continuing legal education courses in the areas of Alaska Native and Native corporation law, public lands, intellectual property and personal injury law.

Russ is active in the Alaska Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is past chair of the Alaska Action Trust, working with the Alaska legislature on legislation of interest to Alaska's trial attorneys. He is also a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Prior to establishing Winner & Associates in 1986, Russ worked for the Alaska Regional Solicitor's Office in the U.S. Department of the Interior and for the law offices of Graham & James, a San Francisco-based law firm with offices throughout the world.

He was admitted to the Alaska Bar in 1978 and the Washington Bar in 1977. Before coming to Alaska, Russ taught Environmental Law, Federal Courts, Remedies, and Ocean Law at Lewis & Clark Law School, in Portland, Oregon. He remains a member of the Board of Visitors of that school. Russ also taught Constitutional Law at the Justice Center of the University of Alaska Anchorage.

He has written law review articles in the area of environmental law and ocean law. Russ is a member of the Downtown Anchorage Rotary Club, and he serves on its Youth Exchange Committee. Russ's interests include fly fishing, family activities, music, sports, cycling, and reading. He has coached youth hockey and soccer in the Anchorage community.

Proven verdicts and settlements

$2,847,000 ($1,672,000 economic plus $1,000,000 capped noneconomic to Dietrich Mael and $175,000 to his family; over $3.5 million with interest, costs and fees)Verdict

In January 2016 Dietrich Mael heard the boiler in his family's Chefornak home whistling and went to check it. It exploded, threw him against a wall, sprayed him with scalding water and glycol and knocked him out. The home's owner, the AVCP Regional Housing Authority, had promised in the family's lease-purchase contract to inspect the boiler and had not; the pressure relief valve was rusted through. A Bethel jury put all the fault on the authority and awarded $3,427,000. Alaska's cap cut the noneconomic portion to $1,000,000, and the Alaska Supreme Court affirmed $2,847,000 in 2022.

Alaska Superior Court, Fourth Judicial District at Bethel · 2019Premises LiabilityRead the full story →
View 1 proven verdict →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

University of Chicago Law School
J.D., 1975
Stanford University
Undergraduate, 1970

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of Alaska
State Bar of Washington

Proven verdicts and settlements from other Anchorage firms

Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon, Inc.
Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon, Inc.
$21,100,000 settlement · She Went to the Alaska Native Medical Center Three Times With a Worsening Infection and Was Sent Home With a Shingles Diagnosis Each Time. She Came Back in Septic Shock and Lost All Four Limbs.
Banker Law Group, P.C.
Banker Law Group, P.C.
$3,000,000 settlement · A State Trooper Slammed on His Brakes and Swung a U-Turn Across the Seward Highway in Front of Him. Troopers Blamed the Drivers Behind. Depositions Showed the Academy Never Required U-Turn Training.
Barber & Associates, LLC
Barber & Associates, LLC
$300,000 judgment (25 percent of a $1,200,000 noneconomic verdict after 75 percent comparative fault, affirmed) · He Was Helping a Friend Hang a Crucifix From Homemade Scaffolding When the Wire Snapped. The Jury Said $1.2 Million and 75 Percent His Own Fault. The Alaska Supreme Court Then Settled Which Comes First, the Fault or the Cap.
Cashion Gilmore & Lindemuth
Cashion Gilmore & Lindemuth
$2,000,000 settlement ($1,800,000 to Nicholas Tucker plus $200,000 in Medicaid liens paid by the state) · "Now My Legs Are Numb. I Can Not Walk. I Need to Go to the Hospital." Alaska's Highest-Security Prison Gave Him Ibuprofen for Six Days While a Spinal Infection Paralyzed Him.
Reeves Amodio LLC
Reeves Amodio LLC
$2,847,000 ($1,672,000 economic plus $1,000,000 capped noneconomic to Dietrich Mael and $175,000 to his family; over $3.5 million with interest, costs and fees) · The Boiler in a Chefornak Home Started Whistling. When He Went to Look, It Exploded. The Housing Authority That Promised to Inspect It Said Its Contract Had Expired Years Earlier, and Lost.