Russell Wayne Updike

Russell W. "Russ" Updike came to Covington, Virginia from Richmond in 1990. He received his B.S. degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1986 and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond T. C. Williams School of Law in 1990. Mr. Updike joined the firm of William T. Wilson and Associates in 1990 and engaged in the general practice of law until becoming a partner in the firm of Wilson & Updike in 1994. For the past 25 years Mr. Updike has practiced almost exclusively injury law representing individuals in personal injury, medical malpractice and workers' compensation claims. During the past 25 years, Mr. Updike has had the pleasure of being lead counsel in several jury trials resulting in verdicts of $1,000,000 or more for his clients, including a verdict in 2012 in the amount of $2,644,373 (inclusive of interest), which is the largest verdict returned by a jury in the history of Alleghany County.

Mr. Updike is a member of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (VTLA). He has served as a representative of the VTLA Board of Governors from 1998 until 2008. He has also been active with the Virginia State Bar, serving as a member of the Eighth District Committee from 1998 to 2004 before being appointed to the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board on July 1, 2004, where he served until July 2010. Mr. Updike also served as a representative of the Young Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar from 1994 to 1996. He also served multiple terms as President of the Alleghany-Bath-Highland Bar Association. Currently, Mr. Updike has been listed in the Virginia Super Lawyer Magazine for approximately 10 years. Mr. Updike is also a member of the Virginia Law Foundation Fellows, Class of 2009.

Mr. Updike has been involved in the community by serving on the boards of the Salvation Army, Jackson River Enterprises and the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Updike has been chairman of the Board of Directors for Jackson River Enterprises since 2010. 

Mr. Updike is married to the former Jennifer Lilly of Lewisburg, West Virginia and they have twin boys, Eli Jackson and Trent Justice, who were born in March of 2004 as well as Ava Grace who was born in July of 2010.