Overview
Joe is the Chair of Reminger’s Broker-Dealer and Investment Advisor Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement Practice Group, and a senior member of the Financial Services, Securities Litigation, Business & Commercial Litigation, and Estates, Trusts and Probate Litigation groups. In his nationwide practice, Joe represents public and private companies and individuals in the financial services, banking, brokerage, insurance, real estate, manufacturing, and construction industries in a wide array of cases involving breach of contract and fraud claims, issues relating to claims of unfair competition and trade secrets violations, and general tort litigation.
His primary focus is complex securities litigation and arbitration, financial institution litigation, compliance consulting, regulatory investigations and inquiries, and broker-dealer liability defense, in which he represents broker-dealers, investment advisors, banks, and insurance companies and their licensed and registered personnel in claims involving allegations of professional misconduct. His background in business litigation and representing financial services providers also translates well into his experience in matters of estate and trust litigation.
With more than two decades of legal experience, Joe has earned a reputation throughout the state of Ohio and nationally as a litigator specializing in complex business disputes, commercial litigation, and alternative dispute resolution. He was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for Commercial Litigation, has been named repeatedly to the Ohio Super Lawyers list, a designation reserved for only 5% of Ohio lawyers, and has achieved Martindale-Hubbell's highest ranking, AV Preeminent®. According to feedback obtained during the rating process, Joe was described as an attorney who “excels at determining a strategy that is cost-effective for the client and then expertly executing that strategy through top-notch work product and advocacy,” and he was recognized as an “excellent lawyer with a wide range of experience and knowledge” who is “among the top defense counsel in the broker-dealer bar.”
Joe previously served as the Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association’s (OSBA) Litigation Section and the Chair of the ADR Section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA). He presently serves as the Chair of the Securities Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section and the Chair of the CMBA’s Litigation Section, and is a member of the CMBA’s Board of Directors. He also currently serves as a member of the Judicial Selection Committee of the CMBA, is on the executive committee of the ADR Section of the OSBA, and serves on the Board of Directors of LifeAct of Northeast Ohio as a member of its Governance and Advocacy committees. He also writes and speaks frequently throughout Ohio and nationwide on topics of interest to litigators and financial services professionals, and has been an active member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys (OACTA), the National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP) and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).
Honors & Recognitions
Rated AV® Preeminent™: Very Highly Rated in Both Legal Ability and Ethical Standards by Martindale Hubbell Peer Review
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Commercial Litigation
Recognized as a Super Lawyer by Ohio Super Lawyers Magazine (2015-2020)
Community & Professional
Professional:
American Bar Association
- Litigation Section – member, Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and Securities Litigation Committee; current chair of Securities Litigation Committee; past co-chair of Securities Arbitration Subcommittee and member of Roundtable Committee
Ohio State Bar Association
- Litigation Section Council, Past Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, Litigation Section
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association
- Member, Board of Directors
- Past Head of Programming, Litigation Section
- Chair, 2022 Litigation Institute
- Chair, Litigation Section
- Past Chair, ADR Section
- Member, Securities Section and Judicial Selection Committee
- CMBA Leadership Academy 2018
- Trial Counsel, 1999-2000
- Certified Grievance Committee, 2000-2003
Independent Broker Dealer Consortium
- Member, IBDC Alliance
Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys
- Alternative Dispute Resolution and Business & Commercial Litigation Committees
Defense Research Institute
- Alternate Dispute Resolution and Commercial Litigation Committees
Guardian ad Litem for Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court
- Domestic Relations and Juvenile Divisions (1996-2009)
Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)
- Member, Compliance & Legal Division
National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP)
- Member
Arbitrator, FINRA
Community:
LifeAct
- Board of Directors, Governance and Advocacy Committees
The Leprechaun Foundation
- Prior General Counsel, Treasurer, Executive Board Member
The Ohio Center for Law Related Education's High School Mock Trial Competition
- Volunteer Judge
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Cleveland High School Mock Trial Competition
- Attorney Advisor
SIFMA Foundation, InvestWrite Student Essay Competition
- Volunteer Judge
The Cuyahoga County Guardian ad Litem Project
- Member 2008-2009, Advisory Board; Communications and Volunteer/Grant Committees
Results
- Mar 21, 2024, Motion For Summary JudgmentU.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division
Summary judgment granted in favor of a financial institution in a case arising from a dispute between an investment advisory firm and one of its representatives. Plaintiff asserted that our client tortiously interfered with the contract between the firm and its representative, and was seeking seven-figure damages. The Court agreed that Plaintiff failed to establish that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to our client's conduct, and therefore ruled in favor of our client.
- Sep 28, 2023, ResolvedFINRA
Represented client in FINRA arbitration to expunge defamatory statements from a Form U5 termination notice. The arbitration panel ordered that all negative references be expunged from our client’s record and also awarded a partial reimbursement of attorney fees.
- Jul 2023, Investigation ClosedFINRA
Represented a client in a regulatory investigation by FINRA for more than two years in connection with a purported failure to supervise the actions of a registered representative allegedly engaging in extensive misconduct involving the marketing and sales of variable annuity products. After over a dozen rounds of discovery, the production of tens of thousands of pages of documents, numerous witness interviews, and extensive discussions with FINRA enforcement personnel, FINRA reported that it is closing its investigation without pursuing enforcement or sanctions against our client.
- Mar 20, 2023, ResolvedFINRA
Represented client in FINRA investigation regarding allegations of fraud, misappropriation of funds and securities, unauthorized trading activity, concealment, and misrepresentations. FINRA closed its investigation of our client without any formal (or informal) disciplinary action.
News
News
Speaking Engagements
Insights
Publications
Reminger Reports
Blog Posts
Practice Areas
Education
J.D., Cleveland State University College of Law, 1996
B.A., The Ohio State University, 1993
Admissions
- State of Ohio, 1996
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 2000
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 1998
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2003
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 2012
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, 2021