Joseph (“Joe”) A. Ruta has been an attorney in New York City for 30 years. He began a solo practice of law in Manhattan in 1994, after being out of law school for only two years. Joe grew the practice by forming a partnership with Steven Soulios in 2001 and then adding Demetrios Stratis as a partner in 2011. The practice deals with various civil litigation, corporate, employment, real estate, bankruptcy and non-profit matters. Joe also currently serves as outside general counsel to over 30 companies including public and national not-for-profit organizations. He has successfully litigated religious freedom, religious discrimination, and right of conscience matters in state and federal courts.
Joe graduated valedictorian of Marist College in 1989 after having attended Oxford University during his junior year abroad and winning Marist’s first debate championship in the college’s history as a sophomore. He then attended Brooklyn Law School as a Richardson Scholar obtaining a J.D. 1992. While in law school, he had the privilege of clerking for the Honorable Harold Baer, Jr. Joe was the president of the New York Metro Chapter of Christian Legal Society from 2002 to 2013 and was a member of the board of directors on a national level for Christian Legal Society from 2008 to 2017. Joe also served on the board of directors of Zarephath Christian Church from 2011 to 2017, ending his tenure as vice chair. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife of 26 years, and they have three children.