A series of portraits of outstanding members of the English Bar by Lord Birkett
5: Charles Russell , Q.C. 1832-1900
Charles Russell , later Lord Russell of Killowen, was said to ' excel in the conduct of commercial cases and those which he described as ' involving a human interest.' He preferred the latter. He was a formidable advocate indeed-whether for the prosecution or the defence. His masterly conduct of the case for Parnell during the protracted sittings of that famous Commission, his defence of Florence Maybrick , when the justice of her conviction was, and still is, gravely questioned, are two of the outstanding cases recalled by Lord Birkett in his portrait of an advocate whose reputation was almost as great abroad as it was in this country.
Production by Joe BURROUGHS
Next Sunday: Thomas Erskine