Joel has tried dozens of cases and arbitrations and has extensive appellate experience in state and federal courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He recently completed the Harvard Program on Negotiation Mediating Disputes Certification Course to further enhance his ADR practice while continuing to represent clients in his established practice.
Joel is available to act as a mediator or arbitrator in all types of civil disputes. In addition, he represents clients in nursing home and assisted living litigation, medical malpractice, legal and accounting malpractice, real estate, financial services, insurance and other professional liability areas. Joel also defends clients in commercial litigation, trucking and motor vehicle accidents, employment disputes and consumer class actions, and against defamation suits. Joel handles condominium association and HOA disputes, consumer banking claims, civil fraud and RICO cases, and unfair trade practices. His representative matters also include products liability, premises liability, and construction litigation.
Joe counsels clients and industry trade groups in drafting arbitration agreements and to develop supporting policies. He has been asked to lecture on best practices for the use of the court system to enforce arbitration agreements. He is a community advocate and also volunteers his time and expertise as a Judge Pro Tem in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.
Practices
- Taylor v. Extendicare Health Facilities, Inc., 147 A.3d 490 (Pa. 2016), certiorari denied, 137 S.Ct. 1375, U.S.Pa., Mar. 27, 2017
- Ruling that survival actions are governed by the decedent’s arbitration agreement and must be arbitrated even though a previous decision held that wrongful death claims were not subject to the decedent’s arbitration agreement
- Ruszala v. Brookdale Living Communities, Inc., 415 N.J. Super. 272, 1 A.3d 806 (App. Div. 2010)
- First reported case in New Jersey to follow the Federal Arbitration Act and enforce an assisted living arbitration agreement even though the New Jersey Nursing Home Rights and Responsibilities Act prohibited arbitration agreements in in a nursing home and assisted living contracts, based upon a finding that the FAA preempted the state law
- Moore ex rel. Moore v. Woman to Woman Obstetrics & Gynecology, LLC , A-0683-11T1, 2013 WL 4080947 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Aug. 14, 2013)
- Enforced arbitration agreement executed at the beginning of an obstetrician/patient relationship
- Personacare of Reading, Inc. v. Lengel, 2017 WL 2772706 (E. D. Pa. June 27, 2017)
- Northern Health Facilities, Inc. v. Batz, 993 F. Supp. 2d 485 (M.D. Pa. 2014)
- Nursing home cases filed in federal court after the plaintiffs filed in state court, in which the federal courts, sitting in diversity, enforced nursing home arbitration agreements
- George v. Northern Health Facilities, Inc., 2011 WL 2923885 (E.D. Pa. 2011)
- Burella v. City of Philadelphia, 2003 WL 23469295 (E.D. Pa. 2003)
- Catagnus v. Aramark Corporation, 235 F. Supp. 413 (E.D. Pa. 2002)
- Commonwealth v. Rosario, 535 Pa. 282, 635 A.2d 109 (1993)
- Commonwealth v. Montgomery, 533 Pa. 491, 626 A.2d 109 (1993)
Education
- Temple University School of Law, JD, 1989
- Temple Law Review, Note/Comment Editor
- Penn State University, BS, Accounting, 1986
- Harvard Law School The Program on Negotiation. Mediating Disputes certification, 2022
Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- United States District Courts: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, District of New Jersey
- United States Courts of Appeals: District of Columbia Circuit, Third Circuit
- United States Supreme Court
Associations
- Pennsylvania Tourette Syndrome Association, Member, Board of Directors
- Cheltenham Board of School Directors, Former President
- Cheltenham Human Relations Commission, Former Vice Chair
- Cheltenham Sports, Member, Board of Directors
Languages
- English
Professional Memberships
- Philadelphia Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, Former Chair
- Defense Research Institute
- Senior Living and Long-Term Care Litigation Seminar Planning Committee
Related News
Presentations/Publications
- Presenter, “Torts 101 for Claims Professionals,” Client CE, webinar (December 2021)
- Panelist, “Building Blocks for a Comprehensive Risk Management Program in Assisted Living,” DRI Nursing Home and Assisted Living Litigation Conference, New Orleans, LA (September 2018)
- Presenter, “Putting Your Neutral Foot Forward: Arbitration in Healthcare,” DRI Annual Meeting, Boston, MA (2016)
- Presenter, “PSO, What LTC Providers Need to Know,” Long Term Care Risk Legal Forum, Las Vegas (2016) and American Health Care Association Meeting, San Antonio, TX (2015)
- Presenter, “Arbitration Drafting,” ACI Nursing Home Litigation Meeting, Miami, FL (2015)
- Presenter, “Federal Actions to Compel Arbitration,” DRI Nursing Home and Assisted Living Litigation Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ (2014)
- Author, “Nursing Home/Alf Cases: Federal Actions to Compel Arbitration,” DRI, For the Defense (November 2014)
- Author, “Not Inherently Unfair, Arbitration in the Long-Term Care Setting,” DRI, For the Defense, 54 No. 8 (August 2012)
- Author, “Products Liability Industry Custom Evidence: Its Relevance in Design Defect Products Liability Cases-Lewis v. Coffing Hoist Division, Duff-Norton Co.,” 61 Temp. L. Rev. 627 (1988)
Recognition
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated™ attorney, recognized since 2010 for the highest level of professional excellence
- Listed among The Best Lawyers in America® annually since 2022 in the area of Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, and in 2024 also recognized for Litigation – Labor and Employment
- Previously selected to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list in the area of Medical Malpractice, a designation received by fewer than five percent of attorneys in the state
- Selected to the Philadelphia Business Journal 40 Under 40 list of “Philadelphians to Watch”