Wurst, who joined Meridian in February, previously had been with the Dallas law firm of Munsch, Hardt, Kopf & Harr. Wurst specializes in commercial bankruptcy and commercial real estate law.

Wurst's appointment is in line with a board expansion from six to nine members, which had taken effect earlier this week in concert with the bankruptcy court's approval of the company's reorganization plan. Joining Wurst are John R. Cooper of PG&E National Energy Group in Bethesda, MD; Alan M. Jacobs of AMJ Advisors LLC of Woodmere, NY; Donald J. MacKinnon of Realm, New York City; and Donald C. Wood of Federal Realty Investment Trust in Bethesda.

Criimi Mae's reorganization plans calls for repayment of about $847 million to creditors through recapitalization financing, of which about $267 million will be secured through creditors Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital Inc. and German American Capital Corp. Another $161 million will be secured from existing unsecured creditors and about $419 million will be generated from proceeds of already completed sales of commercial mortgage-backed securities.