A member of the Archer Norris litigation group, Joe is a Board Certified Trial Specialist. He is one of only 107 lawyers in California, and one of less than 2,000 in the United States, to hold such a certification. Joe is also a Prime Member in the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys and is listed among the Southern California lawyers on SuperLawyers.com.
Acclaimed Trial Work
In order to achieve the status of trial specialist, he applied his educational background and work experience in chemistry to years of litigating and perfecting trial skills in various areas. These areas include product liability, toxic tort/environmental, drug and medical devices, and healthcare claims and matters. He also has substantial experience in commercial trucking and professional liability.
Complex, Scientific-Based Litigation
Joe's background as a chemist allowed him to develop a particular expertise in technical, scientific, and medical matters, including issues related to toxic exposure and their sequelae.
Joe has substantial experience in the defense of toxic exposure and environmental claims. He has spent nearly 20 years litigating claims involving benzene, silica, asbestosis, "mixed dust", metals, ammonia, exhaust fumes as well as food and water borne illnesses related to Legionella bacteria, salmonella and botulism.
Most recently, Joe and a team of Archer Norris attorneys achieved a defense verdict after successfully defending 22 defendants against claims by 30 plaintiffs alleging exposure to Legionella bacteria and mold in a county office building. To learn more about how this case was successfully resolved, please click here.
Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Experience
Joe, a member of the Southern California Association for Health Care Risk Management, has extensive professional and product liability defense experience in the healthcare field. Working in-house for a major national carrier, he defended numerous physicians, practice groups, hospitals, and health facilities against claims of medical negligence. Additionally, he defended numerous manufacturers of drug and medical devices arising out of product defect and failure to warn allegations.
Joe has handled the defense of litigation involving the following drugs:
- Fen-Phen
- VIOXX
- Rezulin
- Baycol
- Fosamax
- Quinine
- Thimerasol
- Tylenol
- Various dietary/herbal supplements, corticosteroids, antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control, muscle relaxants and anti-seizure products
Joe has also defended product liability claims involving respirators, angioplasty devices, surgical implants, stents, surgical instruments, RF ablation devices, cardiac devices, microcatheters, cardiovascular surgical adhesives, retinal implants, tissue processing, orthopedic stabilization devices, pedicle screws, infusion pumps, surgical electrodes, wheelchairs, gurneys, and centrifuges.
These claims, venued in both State and Federal Courts and ranging from two party litigation to Mass Tort, Class Action and Multi-District Litigation (MDL), have involved serious injury including death, stroke, neurological deficits, fatal hypoglycemia, fatal respiratory failure, skin necrosis/Stevens Johnson syndrome, perforation of vital organs, RSD, and extensive debilitating orthopedic injuries.
Experience in Product Liability and Transportation
Joe began his career working in-house for CNA Insurance where he litigated a variety of matters involving personal lines, commercial lines and professional liability cases. As a consequence of aggressive file handling, Joe was specifically chosen to defend SIU (fraud) cases. Later in his career, Joe defended a large number of “profile” SIU cases for Infinity Insurance and Coast National Insurance.
Similarly, Joe has broad experience in the product liability arena having tried cases throughout the state which involved scissorlifts, cherry pickers, jackhammers and power actuated drivers. He has likewise litigated matters involving numerous other types of heavy machinery and hand operated tools.
Joe has also tried a number of commercial vehicle matters involving both tractor/trailer combinations (long and short haul) as well as public and private transit buses. Due to his familiarity with commercial vehicles, Joe has presented seminars to both employers and carriers on issues of DOT regulations, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and California Vehicle Code Compliance.
Top Accolades from Association of Defense Trial Attorneys
In recognition of his experience and expertise, Joe was recently nominated and elected a Prime Member in the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, an organization with membership limited to one defense trial attorney per million of the population in each city in the United States.
He is a member of the Defense Research Institute, Trial Tactics, Product Liability, and Drug and Medical Device Committees as well as the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel. Joe also belongs to the committees on Environmental Law and Litigation Practice of the Federalist Society, in addition to the Litigation Section of the California State Bar.
Trusted and Respected in the California Courts
Joe serves as Judge Pro Tem for the Los Angeles Superior Courts and has spent years acting as an arbitrator in Los Angeles County.