As was customary for Chancery silks, Russell attached himself to the court of one Chancery Division judge, first to the court of Mr Justice Swinfen Eady, then to that of Mr Justice Astbury.

His practice was very successful, and in 1918 he became one of the 'specials' at the Chancery bar, i.e. a barrister who charged a £50 extra fee for any court appearance.

[1] In 1919 Russell, a Roman Catholic, appeared in front of the House of Lords in Bourne v Keane [1919] AC 815, in which the Lords overturned the rule that a bequest for masses for the dead was void for being "for superstitious uses".

Lord Birkenhead, who had heard the case, was so impressed by Russell's performance that he arranged for him to be appointed to the Chancery Division of the High Court the same year.

Unusually, upon appointment Russell declined the customary knighthood because, as the son of a peer, he outranked a knight bachelor.