Thomas Rucinski
was born in Hammond, Indiana in 1949, graduated from Bishop Noll Institute,
obtained a B.S. from Indiana University Business School and graduated from
Valparaiso University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate degree in 1974.
As of January 1,
2018, Mr. Rucinski has changed his status with the firm to “of counsel”. He continues
to consult on matters relating to the firm.
Mr. Rucinski
began his legal career as a Law Clerk with the law firm in 1972. Mr. Rucinski
has been with the firm in some capacity ever since. Mr. Rucinski has been
involved in numerous types of cases, including family law, personal injury and
criminal cases. He's obtained favorable recoveries for clients against local
and state governments, corporations, doctors and dentists. As a licensed pilot,
his knowledge of the Federal Aviation Agency and the National Transportation
Safety Board provides him with additional tools with which to handle aviation
related matters.
Mr. Rucinski
focused a significant portion of his time in the area of family law. His
philosophy in representing divorce clients was to amicably reach a settlement
on all issues without time consuming and costly litigation. However, there are
times when, for a variety of reasons, settlement is impossible. In these cases,
Mr. Rucinski recognized that vigorous representation is the only alternative.
In the 1970's, as lead attorney, he was filing an average of 50 new divorce
cases per year. Although he stopped keeping track of new divorce filings, he
estimates he represented over 1,000 different spouses or ex-spouses in
family-related matters. Three of his cases set legal precedent in Indiana, see:
In Re Buehler, which deals with the issue of voluntary underemployment; In Re
Gnerlich, which deals with disability payments being included in the marital
estate and therefore a divisible asset; and Baxendale v. Raich, which deals
with the relocation of an eleven year old child from Northwest Indiana to
Minneapolis. (To view Mr. Rucinski’s successful oral argument before the
Indiana Supreme Court, click this link: Baxendale v. Raich) Mr. Rucinski has an
admirable Appellate record being successful in the following cases: Willsey v.
People; Terpstra v. Terpstra; Milligan v. Milligan; and Clark v. State of
Indiana.
Mr. Rucinski has
represented clients in divorce cases throughout Indiana, including: Hammond,
Gary, East Chicago, Crown Point, Munster, Highland, Dyer, St. John, Hobart,
Valparaiso, Kentland, Rensselaer and Michigan City.
Mr. Rucinski is
proud of his record mediating cases in the field of family law and remains
available to assist couples and their counsel with mediating their disputes.
Mr. Rucinski is
honored that he received statewide recognition as the 2014 Family Law Lawyer of
the Year for the South Bend Metropolitan Area including Lake and Porter
Counties. Mr. Rucinski was given a Martindale-Hubbell ®AV®* rating from his
peers. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers® in
America 2008(Copyright 2007 by Woodward/White, Inc., Aiken, S.C.) and every
subsequent year in the field of Family Law. Since its inception in 1983, Best
Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal
excellence in the United States. In addition, Tom is equally proud that he has
also earned the SuperLawyers® (Registered trademark of Key Professional Media,
Inc.) designation awarded by Law & Politics and has been named in the
SuperLawyers® magazine.
