Forty Under 40: Bianca Rucker

Bianca Rucker thought she wanted to be a doctor. She went to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock to major in biology, but that revealed an unavoidable truth.

“The classes were not a good fit for me,” Rucker confessed. “It did not come naturally in any way.”

Instead, Rucker is now one of the state’s top bankruptcy attorneys. She earned a political science degree (2003) and law degree (2006) from UALR, and since 2011 has built a successful law practice in WLJ’s Rogers office, focusing on trustee, creditor and complex-debtor representation. 

She said she is drawn to the rules, structure and subject matter of bankruptcy law.

“Whether its banks or individuals or businesses, I enjoy helping people navigate the laws and helping everyone get what they are supposed to get out of a bankruptcy process,” she said.

Rucker moved to Fayetteville in 2006 and spent the next five years as staff attorney in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, first for Judge Richard Taylor and then for Judge Ben Barry.

“I wish all law students had the opportunity to work for a judge,” she said. “That started me on a good career path.”

She was recently appointed a bankruptcy trustee for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Arkansas. Rucker will start her own law firm in Fayetteville and begin taking cases Sept. 1, joining a panel of eight other Chapter 7 trustees in Arkansas.

Married with two children, Rucker advises up-and-coming professionals to show initiative.

“You can’t expect a job or a promotion or a case to walk through the door,” she said. “You have to show people you want to do the work.”

Rucker was a 2016 “Kiss a Pig” candidate benefiting American Diabetes Association. She is also a board member of the Springdale nonprofit Family Network Inc.