Ortiz & Ortiz: The Father-Daughter Firm That Has Served New York Debtors Since 1960

Attorney Advertising. This profile is independent editorial content produced by Awesome Attorneys and is not a paid placement. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship. See our Methodology and Publisher Disclosure below.

At a Glance

Founded by	Frank Ortiz, a Harvard Law School graduate, in 1960; his daughter Norma E. Ortiz joined the practice in 1998 and the two formed the partnership in 1999 (per the firm)
Focus	Bankruptcy for consumers and businesses under Chapters 7, 11, and 13, plus civil litigation, judgment enforcement, and wills and estate planning (per the firm)
Office	287 Park Avenue South, Suite 337, New York, NY 10010 (Manhattan), with a second office the firm’s site lists in Brooklyn
Signature results	No published itemized outcomes table; the firm states it has helped thousands of clients through bankruptcy and financial recovery over more than three decades of the current partnership (per the firm)
Distinctive edge	Partner Norma Ortiz came to private debtor practice from the government side — the U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Trustee’s Office — and a clerkship with a Southern District of New York bankruptcy judge (per her firm biography)
Fee model	Not published on the firm’s site; the firm offers virtual consultations across all five boroughs (per the firm)
Known for	Individualized consumer and small-business bankruptcy work, bilingual English-Spanish service, and bankruptcy education for other attorneys (per the firm)

Origin and Background

Ortiz & Ortiz is one of the older continuously operating family firms in New York consumer practice: Frank Ortiz, a Harvard Law School graduate, opened the office in 1960, and his daughter Norma joined the practice in 1998 after a career start on the government side of bankruptcy — the U.S. Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee’s Office, the agency that oversees bankruptcy administration, followed by a clerkship for a bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York, per her firm biography. Norma Ortiz earned her B.A. from the City College of New York in 1984 and her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1987, and has practiced in New York since 1988 and New Jersey since 1994.

What Makes This Firm Structurally Different

Few debtor-side attorneys have watched bankruptcy cases from the regulator’s chair, a judge’s chambers, and the debtor’s side of the table; Norma Ortiz has done all three, per her firm biography. The firm also carries an unusual teaching footprint for a small practice: Ortiz chairs the bankruptcy committee of the New York Bar Association, per her firm biography, lectures and conducts training for other attorneys on bankruptcy practice, and has been interviewed as a bankruptcy expert by CNN and NY1, per independent directory accounts. The firm states it represents debtors as well as creditors and other interested parties in bankruptcy proceedings — a dual role disclosed here directly.

Practice Areas

• Chapter 7 consumer and business bankruptcy
• Chapter 11 reorganization
• Chapter 13 repayment-plan bankruptcy
• Creditor representation in bankruptcy proceedings
• Civil litigation, debt collection, and judgment enforcement
• Wills and estate planning

Track Record

The firm does not publish an itemized outcomes table; it states it has helped thousands of individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses resolve debt and financial problems over more than three decades of the current partnership, on top of the founding practice’s history reaching back to 1960. Awesome Attorneys did not independently audit client counts. Past results in any matter do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future matter.

Client Voice

The firm publishes client reviews on its own site; one reviewer wrote that Norma resolved a years-old case they “thought was hopeless,” and another described being made to feel comfortable and reassured after initial embarrassment about their financial situation. These reviews are published by the firm without full names, so Awesome Attorneys treats them as firm-curated accounts rather than independently attributed testimony.

Beyond the Courtroom

Norma Ortiz is a founding member of the Association of Latina Lawyers and a board member of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, per her firm biography, and the firm serves clients in both English and Spanish. Her continuing legal education lectures and attorney trainings on bankruptcy law extend the firm’s footprint into professional education.

Recognition

Ortiz’s recognitions rest on institutional roles rather than marketing awards: her chairing of a bar association bankruptcy committee, her prior government service in the U.S. Trustee’s Office, her bankruptcy-court clerkship, and media appearances as a bankruptcy commentator on CNN and NY1, per her firm biography and independent directory accounts. New York does not maintain a state board-certification system for bankruptcy law, and Awesome Attorneys did not identify a national specialty-board certification for this attorney, so no “specialist” language is applied in this profile.

New York Legal Backdrop

Bankruptcy is federal law: Chapter 7 liquidation, Chapter 13 repayment plans, and Chapter 11 reorganization all proceed under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, and filing triggers the automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362, which generally halts most collection activity, wage garnishments, and foreclosure sales while the case is pending. New York debtors choose between the state exemption scheme (drawn from CPLR § 5205 and Debtor and Creditor Law §§ 282–283) and the federal exemptions, a choice New York law has permitted since 2011 amendments. None of this is legal advice; whether and how to file should be evaluated by a licensed attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Ortiz & Ortiz’s clearest differentiator is perspective: a 65-year family practice whose lead bankruptcy partner learned the system from the U.S. Trustee’s Office and a bankruptcy judge’s chambers before ever filing on a debtor’s behalf, and who now teaches other attorneys the practice. The honest trade-offs: the firm represents creditors as well as debtors, a dual role disclosed above that a debtor-only purist may weigh; it publishes no itemized outcomes record; its client reviews are firm-curated rather than independently attributed; and its practice spans estate planning and litigation rather than bankruptcy alone. For an individual or small business owner — particularly a Spanish-speaking client — who wants a bankruptcy attorney with regulator-side and chambers-side experience in a small, family-run setting, this firm is a reasonable one to have on a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Ortiz & Ortiz’s own website, including its firm overview, Manhattan bankruptcy, and attorney biography pages, and independent listings on Yelp, USLegal, U.S. News Lawyer Directory, and LawyerLand confirming founding year, office addresses, bar admissions, and media appearances. Where sources varied on office locations, this profile follows the firm’s own current site.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Ortiz & Ortiz, LLP prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any profiled firm, and inclusion in this directory is not a paid placement. “Awesome Attorneys” is a brand name only and does not constitute a rating or ranking claim. Facts stated are current only as of this profile’s research date.

Related legal guides

• After Bankruptcy Discharge Arizona: What Actually Resets
• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Lawyer Austin: Deadlines That Run the Case
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer Austin: Six Things the Plan Is Not
• Texas Homestead Exemption Austin: Five Situations, One Acreage Rule
• Bankruptcy Means Test Austin: Three Households, One Cutoff
• Stop Foreclosure Bankruptcy Austin: Four Dates That Decide It

Browse all guides →