Each heritage month celebration, the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and its respective affinity groups like to showcase some of the firm’s young talent as Rising Stars. This month, meet associates Cheyenne Moore and Brian Russ.

Cheyenne Moore

Cheyenne is a Denver associate focusing her practice on a variety of litigation matters in the automotive industry. She has litigation experience with issues related to insurance, products liability and asbestos, business and commercial, labor and employment, and civil rights litigation. Cheyenne has been recognized as a 2022 Best Lawyers in America ‘Ones to Watch’ and by the National Black Lawyers. 

Cheyenne is also a very active leader in the legal profession. She is a member of the Colorado Federal Pro Se Clinic, the Sam Cary Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, and the Colorado Bar Association. She is currently the Firm representative for the Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado’s Associates Campaign that takes place every March. Contributions to the Legal Aid Foundation support the work of Colorado Legal Services (CLS), the only agency in Colorado that provides free legal services to indigent clients in every Colorado county. As the Firm representative, Cheyenne will guide the Colorado office’s fundraising efforts and participation goals.  

Outside of her busy practice and leadership activities, Cheyenne devotes her skills to pro bono and was named as a 2020 Pro Bono Star by the Colorado Bar Association. Ahead of one of Cheyenne’s biggest pro bono wins, she argued before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in a matter related to a § 1983 violation of due process. She won the appeal in which the Tenth Circuit upheld the district court’s decision to deny the defendants’ motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Cheyenne settled the case in early 2021. “Now, I’m looking for my next pro bono case,” she said.

Brian Russ

Brian is a senior associate in Charlotte who focuses his practice on banking and financial services and advises banks, broker-dealers, financial tech companies, and other investment companies on regulatory, compliance, and corporate matters.

The matters he works on include: FinTech, cryptocurrency, and blockchain advisement; broker-dealer regulatory advisory and representation with FINRA; de novo bank formations and financial M&A; private equity transactions and fund formations; and Minority Depository Institution advisory and formation. “I advise startups and established entities on the application of securities laws and money transmission laws to their platforms that leverage blockchain technology to issue or otherwise facilitate the movement of digital assets such as cryptographic currencies (or coins), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and stablecoins,” Brian said.

Outside of his practice, Brian serves as a mentor in the Linking Lawyers Mentoring Program of the Mecklenburg County Bar, an avenue for lawyers to network, give and receive guidance, and gain insight into diverse areas of law.

Prior to joining Nelson Mullins, Brian served as a compliance enterprise regulatory change management compliance officer focusing on building regulatory intake programs, performing regulatory event applicability analysis, conducting risk assessments, and developing regulatory library and taxonomies.