Russell Walter Fox AC QC LLB (30 September 1920 – 22 December 2013) was an Australian author, educator, jurist and former chief judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. He is best known for his extensive report on uranium mining in Australia in the early 1980s.
Fox was born at Strathfield, New South Wales in 1920. He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School, the Royal Military College, Duntroon and the University of Sydney.
During the Second World War, he was a lieutenant in the Australian Staff Corps between 1940 and 1942. He enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 3 March 1942 at Paddington in Sydney. Whilst serving his country, he married his wife Shirley in 1943. Fox and his new wife were to have three sons and one daughter. He served in the army until his discharge on 23 March 1945 when he was discharged with the rank of captain.
Fox was admitted to the New South Wales bar in 1949. In 1952 he became one of the examiners for Solicitors Admissions Board in New South Wales and continued in that role until 1955. In 1958 Fox jointly took over the post of General Editor of the Australian Law Journal from Rae Else-Mitchell. He held this post jointly with Nigel Bowen until 1960. From 1960 until 1967, he was the sole editor of the journal. He published eight volumes, numbered 32 to 40, and was one of the few editors who either was not, or did not become, a judge of the New South Wales Supreme Court. In those days of the journal, there was only one law school in New South Wales, and Fox had to write many of the articles himself rather than just be an editor.