Whether standing in front of a judge in a federal courtroom seeking justice for a client whose rights have been violated, negotiating a settlement for a family injured by a careless driver, appearing on national tv as a legal expert or giving legal advice to countless clients of all backgrounds and stations, Retired Judge Fanon A. Rucker uses his unique and incredibly diverse body of experiences to advocate, inform and secure results.
Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Judge Rucker graduated from Hampton University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Motivated to pursue a legal career after watching the injustices in the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent acquittals of the police officers who assaulted him, Judge Rucker began his career as a Prosecutor. After several years as a prosecutor, Judge Rucker went into private practice where he focused primarily on civil rights, employment, municipal law and business litigation. Judge Rucker litigated cases in state and federal court at both the trial and appellate levels. Judge Rucker had the very unique experience of representing both plaintiffs and defendants in court. At 35, Judge Rucker was appointed to the Bench and served for 13 years until he stepped down in 2019 to reenter private practice.
Judge Rucker is currently the managing attorney of the Cincinnati Office of the Cochran Firm. He primarily focuses on recovering compensation for people injured or killed by the carelessness or malicious actions of others. He serves as the Senior Adviser of the Center for Social Justice at the Urban League and as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law teaching Ethics and Professionalism. Judge Rucker recently completed his term as an Ohio Bar Examiner. Judge Rucker can also be found giving expert legal commentary or discussing his own or other high profile cases on a national court tv network, on local and national news and occasionally on-air with national figure Roland Martin.
A trusted and credible voice of leadership, Judge Rucker has served as President, an Officer or a Board Member of countless legal, fraternal, charitable and religious organizations. Judge Rucker’s motto in leadership is “plan to leave it better than you find it or let someone else take the lead.” Over the years, he has received numerous awards and honors by various local and national groups and is often called upon to emcee or serve as the keynote speaker for public events.
In his spare time, Judge Rucker enjoys camping, fishing, boating, writing and performing spoken word poetry and spending time with his children and granddaughter.
