About Us

With over more than 40 years of practice, Gold and Hammes has represented thousands of debtors in bankruptcy cases. Yet, each client receives the personal attention of a highly-experienced attorney which is necessary for proper case analysis and preparation. Gold and Hammes is committed to providing superb, reasonably-priced and efficient service for our clients. Both Norma Hammes and James Gold work together on all of our cases.

As the first law firm in Northern California to use computers to produce bankruptcy petitions and schedules (in 1985), Gold and Hammes remains in the high-tech forefront of the bankruptcy community.

James Gold and Norma Hammes are both certified as Bankruptcy Law Specialists by the California Board of Legal Specialization.

Appellate decisions of note include: General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Mitchell, 954 F.2d 557 (9th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 113 S.Ct. 303 (1992); In re Galvan, 110 B.R. 446 (9th Cir. BAP 1990).

James Gold or Norma Hammes, as counsel and/or co-counsel for the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys in many cases, including:

  • In re Wilson, 90 F.3d 347 (9th Cir. 1996)
  • In re Taffi, 96 F.3d 1190 (9th Cir. 1996)
  • In re Hoskins, 102 F.3d 311 (7th Cir. 1996)
  • Associates Commercial Corp v. Rash, 90 F.3d 1036 (5th Cir. 1996), on cert 520 U.S. 953 (1997)
  • In re Gruntz, 202 F.3d 1074 (9th Cir. 1999)
  • Contractors State License Board of California v. Dunbar, 245 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2001)
  • Carrillo v. Su, 290 F.3d 1140 (9th Cir. 2002)
  • In re Lopez, 345 F.3d 701 (9th Cir. 2003)
Regional Application

This information is only applicable to people who live in Santa Clara County, California, USA. In the USA, the bankruptcy law is a federal law that applies in all states. The property that can be protected (“exempted”) by people who file bankruptcy is prescribed by state law, however. Bankruptcy, property, and exemption law is further affected by court decisions that apply in certain geographic areas. If you live in the USA, but are outside of Santa Clara County, please consult an attorney in your own area.

General Information

The information contained in this web site is general in nature. Bankruptcy law is extremely complex and it is easy to misunderstand how a general description might or might not apply to you personally. In order to find out how this information applies to you personally, you will need to discuss it in detail with one of our attorneys.

Debt Relief Agency

Federal law states that attorneys who represent people in bankruptcy cases are “debt relief agencies.” Gold and Hammes represents people (and small businesses) in bankruptcy – in fact, that is the only type of law we practice. Therefore, Gold and Hammes is a debt relief agency.

© Gold and Hammes 2023.