 With U.S. Attorney General Reverdy Johnson (who was acting in a private capacity) and other Virginia lawyers including James Paull and Alexander H. H. Stuart, Russell defended the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company in litigation brought by Edwin M. Stanton and Robert J. Walker following construction of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge across the Ohio River beginning in 1849.Although the company twice technically lost in the United States Supreme Court in the lawsuit brought by upriver rivals in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Russell's legislative advocacy also proved crucial.The first bridge to cross a major Western river was never demolished, and was even rebuilt after damage in an 1854 windstorm.