Joseph G. Harraka, Jr.

In The News

Joseph G. Harraka, Jr. is a partner in the Firm's litigation department and has received an AV peer review rating for legal ability and ethical standards from Martindale-Hubbell. During the course of his 20+ years of practice, Mr. Harraka has been involved in, and has served as lead trial counsel for, civil and business litigation matters in various state, federal, and bankruptcy courts. In addition, he has handled numerous arbitrations pending before various alternative dispute forums and has significant experience in resolving cases without the need for trial through various alternative dispute methods.

In his most recent trial in October 2007, he served as lead trial counsel in a bench trial before the Honorable Robert W. Sweet, Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New York, in a case involving various complex partnership and securities law related issues.

Mr. Harraka has focused his practice on representing insurance companies, financial institutions, real estate developers, contractors, and brokerage firms. Representative clients include The Hartford, St. Paul Travelers, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, Columbia Bank, Balboa Capital Corporation, and other large and medium size businesses. His areas of special experience include insurance coverage, construction, breach of contract, fraud, securities, and other complex commercial litigation matters.

In 1982, Mr. Harraka graduated magna cum laude with his B.A. degree from Seton Hall University and in 1985, he graduated cum laude with his J.D. degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School, where he graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. Mr. Harraka was an academic scholarship recipient at Notre Dame and was the Executive Director of Notre Dame's Moot Court Board. In 2004, Mr. Harraka graduated magna cum laude with his M.B.A. degree from the University of Southern California.

Mr. Harraka is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in New Jersey, New York, and California. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New York Bar Association, the State Bar of California, and the American Bar Association and has been active in state and local bar activities. Mr. Harraka frequently writes articles for a number of publications and recently published various articles in the New Jersey Law Journal and insurance trade industry related journals.