Jill Russell was born and raised just south of Dallas, Texas. During high school, Jill’s older cousin was a ski instructor at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado, and during his summer breaks he went to Australia to work as a ski instructor at Jindabyne Resort. Hearing all of his amazing travel stories, Jill was inspired and decided to pursue her education ventures in Australia for college. She moved to Wollongong, in New South Wales, Australia in 2006 to attend University of Wollongong, and graduated with a degree in Political Science and International Relations in 2008.
Upon graduating, the economy in the US wasn’t thriving, and Jill spent a year as a snowboard instructor and guest services specialist for Vail Resorts in Colorado. As diving into the workforce for a career position seemed to be off the table with companies in “cease hire” mode and a recession in full swing, Jill shifted her focus to graduate school. She spent a semester at American University in Washington, DC, studying International Media before transferring to the University of Sydney in Australia in January 2011 to complete a Masters in Media Practice, with a focus on Marketing and Public Relations.
Upon graduating from the University of Sydney, Jill returned to the US and spent five years assisting hospitality businesses on their marketing efforts in positions as an in-house Marketing Manager and later as an Account Executive at a Public Relations Firm.
Having always wanted to pursue a career in the legal field, Jill started law school at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, in 2017. Despite walking in with aspirations to be the next Amal Clooney and dive into international human rights, Jill wasn’t enamored with Constitutional Law, and instead gravitated toward transactional and business law courses in law school. Perhaps it was being a new graduate in 2008 when the economy was struggling with the mortgage crisis, or being in high school when the Enron collapse occurred, but some of Jill’s favorite courses in law school were on Corporate Compliance and Regulation.
Jill spent her first summer in law school interning with the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution in New York City, an organization focused on alternative dispute resolution, before flying to Europe to attend a summer abroad program in Berlin, Germany where she acquired Certificates in International Negotiation, International Mediation, and International Arbitration from Humboldt University and Tulane Law.
Jill’s second summer of law school was spent as a legal intern for the General Counsel’s in-house legal team at TPG Global, LLC in Fort Worth, Texas, learning about the intricacies of the private equity world. That internship extended to include working remotely for Jill’s final year of law school, and for an additional year of interning after graduating from Tulane Law in May 2020.
As the pandemic restrictions began to lift, Jill moved to Colorado to work as a Paralegal for an Estate Planning Firm. During a visit to the Big Sky area to visit a friend from her snowboard instructing days, Jill fell in love with Montana. She was lucky enough to find Silverman Law Office, PLLC, who was looking to add an Attorney to their team, and has found a place to call home in their Bozeman office. Jill’s practice primarily consists of assisting clients with liquor and gaming licensing matters, estate planning, business and corporate law, and real estate. The transactional side of the law is what Jill enjoys because it allows her to help clients make their business dreams a reality!
