RUDEN McCLOSKY PARTNER TERRENCE J. RUSSELL RECEIVES MEDAL OF HONOR FROM THE FLORIDA BAR FOUNDATION

Terrence J. Russell, Esq., a partner and litigator at the Ruden McClosky law firm, has received the 2008 Medal of Honor from The Florida Bar Foundation. The award recognizes Russell's lifelong compassion, and undaunting efforts to secure state funding for legal assistance for the poor through the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act. He received the award at the 32nd Annual Reception and Dinner of The Florida Bar Foundation on Thursday June 19 at The Boca Raton Resort and Club, during The Florida Bar annual meeting in Boca Raton, FL.

 “Terry has demonstrated an enduring commitment to the support of legal aid programs in Florida. No one is more deserving of this high honor,” said Carl Schuster, Managing Director of the firm and longtime fellow partner of Russell. Russell is the second partner of the Ruden McClosky law firm to receive the distinction. Former partner Sam Smith, Esq. received the Medal of Honor posthumously in 1999.

Notable past recipients of the Medal of Honor include former Florida Governors Lawton Chiles and Ruben Askew; four former presidents of the American Bar Association: Martha W. Barnett; Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte; W. Reece Smith Jr.; and Chesterfield H. Smith, and five former Florida Supreme Court Justices: Richard W. Erwin; Raymond Ehrlich; James C. Adkins; Ben F. Overton; and Arthur J. England Jr.,  and former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.  Elizabeth Lander "Budd" Bell also received the award this year.

Russell is a past president of the Florida Bar Foundation and in 2000 he received The Florida Bar Foundation Presidents' Award for Excellence. He has served as President of the Florida Bar in 2001-2002 and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar. He is a former Chairman of the Seventeenth Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission and former Chairman of the Florida Supreme Court Nominating Commission. Russell is also a former member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association, and a former President of the Broward County Bar Association. In 1999, Russell was named Outstanding Past Voluntary Bar President by the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Nova Southeastern University Law School from 1991 to 1997 and as President of the Florida State University Law School Alumni Association in 1986.

Terry Russell is married to Mary Kay Russell. Their daughter Cristina Russell is a partner at the law firm of Rogers Towers in Jacksonville, FL. Their son, Dr. Greg Russell and daughter-in-law Dr. Mary Catherine Russell have a son Greg Russell, Jr., Terry & Mary Kay Russell’s first grandchild.  The Russells reside in Broward County.

For additional information on this announcement, including downloadable photos, attorney biographical information, and a fact sheet on Ruden McClosky, please visit the firm website and click on News and Events/Media Room.