Table of Contents
Biography
Senior Attorney Thomas Messner joined Brown Immigration Law in 2022. Thomas represents clients before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Labor. His work focuses on a wide range of immigration-related matters, including adjustment of status, asylum, custody redetermination, employment-based immigration, family-based immigration, naturalization, and removal defense. He is admitted to practice law in the State of Ohio, the State of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Thomas is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, where he received his Juris Doctor in 2022. During law school, Thomas externed and volunteered at Catholic Charities’ Migration & Refugee Services Office, where he gained experience in removal defense cases. Thomas went on to intern at the Case Western Reserve University Kramer Law Clinic, where he gained further experience in immigration law. He continued his focus on removal defense cases while expanding his caseload to adjustment of status and asylum cases. Upon graduating from law school, Thomas was recognized by the Supreme Court of Ohio for serving the civil legal needs of impoverished Ohioans through his volunteer work at Catholic Charities. Thomas also received the Jack Cronquist Award from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in recognition of his outstanding performance and commitment to clients of the Kramer Law Clinic.
Thomas is also a graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he received his Honors Bachelor of Arts cum laude in International Affairs and Spanish, as well as an interdisciplinary minor in Italian, in 2019. To further his studies, Thomas studied at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, where he studied European Union Law.
While at Marquette, Thomas volunteered at the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic, where he assisted immigration attorneys and immigrants in their translation needs. Thomas also volunteered at a Milwaukee church, where he tutored immigrant children in reading and writing. Thomas also spent two years teaching Spanish at Milwaukee-area elementary schools.
Thomas is originally from Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Licenses
- Supreme Court of Ohio
- Michigan Supreme Court
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Employment History
- Brown Immigration Law, Senior Attorney
- Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic, Certified Legal Intern
- Auto Services Unlimited, Legal Extern
- Catholic Charities’ Migration and Refugee Services Office, Legal Extern
- City of Milwaukee – Assessor’s Office, Intern
Education
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Juris Doctor (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Jack Cronquist Award
- Vattell International Law Scholar
- Marquette University, Honors Bachelor of Arts (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
- Major: International Affairs, European Concentration
- Major: Spanish Language, Literature and Culture
- Minor: Italian Studies
- Cum laude
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Study Abroad (Milan, Italy)
Languages
- English
- Italian
- Spanish
- Norwegian
Memberships
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association
- Genesee County Bar Association
- Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
- Ohio State Bar Association
- State Bar of Michigan
Awards & Recognitions
- Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Star (2025)
- Supreme Court of Ohio & Ohio Access to Justice Foundations, Certificate of Achievement (2022)
- In recognition of serving the civil legal needs of impoverished Ohioans.
- Case Western Reservice University School of Law, Jack Cronquist Award (2022)
- In recognition of outstanding performance and commitment to clients.
Publications
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE (2025 Immigration Law Special Issue), Can Immigrants Deport Themselves? An Explanation of Voluntary Departure (Jan. 21, 2025).
GENESEE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION, Bar Beat, United States Citizenship and the Importance of Obtaining Legal Counsel in Removal Proceedings (Sep. 5, 2024).
