RUDEN McCLOSKY PARTNER THOMAS MESSANA APPOINTED TO FLORIDA BAR BANKRUPTCY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE

FORT LAUDERDALE  Thomas Messana, a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of the Ruden McClosky law firm has been appointed Co-Chair of the Florida Bar Bankruptcy Judicial Liaison Committee (BJLC). Mr. Messana leads Ruden McClosky's Bankruptcy Practice Group in Fort Lauderdale, and concentrates his practice on bankruptcy, creditors' rights, corporate reorganization and out-of-court workouts.

The Florida Bar Bankruptcy Judicial Liaison Committee meets bi-annually to foster communication and discuss issues of general interest between bankruptcy judges and lawyers throughout the state. One of Mr. Messana's objectives will be to lead the committee in examining local rules of procedure as an effort to standardize practice within Florida.

Mr. Messana served as president of the Bankruptcy Bar Association of the Southern District of Florida and was the treasurer and founder of the Bankruptcy Bar Foundation of the Southern District of Florida. He was recently named among Florida Trend's 2004 Legal Elite and had previously been named among Best of the Bar 2004 by South Florida Business Journal. He is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University (B.A., 1980) and received his law degree from the University of Maryland (J.D., with honors, 1990).