Why Hire Ruff and Cohen?

You want experienced bankruptcy attorneys in your corner.

There are many Jacksonville and Gainesville bankruptcy lawyers who advertise that they can handle your bankruptcy case. Some are new at bankruptcy law and some have a fair amount of experience. A few lawyers have a great deal of experience. Here is what we can tell you about our firm. First, you would deal directly with a lawyer, not an assistant. Our lawyers are Eric S. Ruff and Lisa C. Cohen. Both graduated with honors from the University of Florida law school. Each of our attorneys has 25 years experience representing bankruptcy clients and we have filed over 5,500 cases. That's a lot of cases. We've been doing this a long time.

Industry Recognition of Attorneys Eric S. Ruff and Lisa C. Cohen

Perhaps you have heard of AVVO.com, the Internet service that rates lawyers and doctors. Our attorneys are both top rated as Superb Attorneys by Avvo.com. The famous lawyer-rating service Martindale-Hubbell has rated each of our lawyers as "Distinguished." We take pride in our work. If we represent you, we will focus on your case with experience and care.

What clients are saying...

You may want to read what clients have posted on the Internet about their experiences with our lawyers. Click for reviews of Eric S. Ruff and of Lisa C. Cohen.

On April 8, 2013, Martindale-Hubbell awarded Mr. Ruff the "Client Distinction Award" which is based on actual client reviews. According to American Registry, less than 1% of the 900,000+ attorneys listed in martindale.com and lawyers.com have been accorded this Martindale-Hubbell honor of distinction.

Consult with Ruff and Cohen for free

We offer you a personal consultation at no charge. If you decide to hire us, we offer payment plans with an initial retainer of as little as $200. If you are interested, call us and request a bankruptcy consultation at either the Gainesville office or the Jacksonville office. You only have to make a phone call; we will guide you from there.

Are you thinking... The word "bankruptcy" scares me; I'm not sure I am brave enough to even call you.

We understand just the word "bankruptcy" is a little scary to some folks. But think of it this way. If there aren't some real benefits to bankruptcy, why are so many people filing for bankruptcy? Here are some facts: Florida is divided into three areas for the bankruptcy courts, the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts. Jacksonville and surrounding counties are in the Middle District, which extends down the middle of the state to Naples. In the Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District the average number of bankruptcy cases filed every day is 156 new cases, and that includes Saturdays and Sundays. That's over 1,000 new bankruptcy cases each week, all year long. That's not just 1,000 people. Many of these cases are joint filings, husband and wife, so the number of people seeking help from the bankruptcy law is much higher than 1,000 a week. And that doesn't count the bankruptcy cases filed in the Bankruptcy Court for Northern District for Florida nor the Southern District. So there are a lot of folks in Florida who are finding out what bankruptcy can do for them, and once they understand what bankruptcy offers, they are getting their cases filed. Be brave. Call us. Bankruptcy may be just what you need.

Thinking about filing a bankruptcy on your own without a lawyer?

First, you probably know that it's perfectly legal to represent yourself in any court in the U.S. You could, for example, represent yourself in Admiralty Court or in Tax Court, but is it a good idea? There is a famous saying you almost certainly have heard "A man who represents himself in court has a fool for a client." There is a reason for that old saying and it's not just lawyers tying to get more work. Bankruptcy is a specialized area of law. It is complicated. Here is what CNN.com published on May 7, 2012, in an article about bankruptcy entitled "Too Broke to Go Bankrupt." The article first discusses how the current law added work for bankruptcy attorneys plus higher filing fees and new counseling requirements have increasing the cost of filing for bankruptcy. But then the article examined two ways of getting around the cost, filing the case yourself or hiring a document preparation company to do it for you. The article warns against both approaches to cutting costs:

And think twice before you decide to go it alone, said Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer education for Credit.com.

"It's too complicated now, and too much of a minefield. Make a mistake and your case is dismissed," she said. "A dismissed bankruptcy hurts your credit just as badly as one you complete. So you have all the downside without the fresh start."

She also warns against low-cost document preparation services claiming to help consumers fill out necessary documents. It's easy for consumers to think they're getting sound legal advice even though the preparers aren't lawyers, she said.

At Ruff & Cohen, we offer payment plans to make it a bit easier to file. Our fees are competitive, and you can check the quality of our attorneys on Avvo.com or reviews of our work on the web.