|
Joseph D. Steinfield is a trial lawyer who has appeared in a wide variety of cases, including complex business disputes, First Amendment Litigation, construction cases, fraud cases, intellectual property disputes, wrongful death cases, section 1983 civil rights claims, and commercial disputes of all types. He has tried nearly every type of civil case, many of which have established important precedents under Massachusetts law.
Notable trials include the successful defense of a wrongful death case against a major telecommunications company; a lengthy arbitration representing a large shipping company; a multi-million dollar fraud and civil RICO judgment against a distributor; and several business fraud cases. In late 2007, he won a verdict of nearly $5 million in the Puerto Rico federal court. Joe has argued many appeals in both state and federal courts, including the First and Second Circuits, the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
In the period 1998-2000, Joe represented the Governor of Puerto Rico and the University of Puerto Rico in two high-profile cases. He continues to appear in the Puerto Rico federal court on a regular basis and served as special counsel to the El Comandante Racetrack. In 2000, the New Hampshire Legislature retained him as Special Counsel in its investigation of the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Following impeachment of the Chief Justice, he served as Special Prosecutor and tried the case before the New Hampshire Senate.
He is a member of the commercial arbitrators panel of the American Arbitration Association, and regularly serves as an arbitrator in complex cases. In the past two years, he has been appointed as a neutral on several arbitration panels including arbitrations under the federal FIFRA statute.
Joe has represented the media in libel, copyright, access and privacy cases. He represented a well-known magazine in a landmark case in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a claim of First Amendment protection for parody. He represented a major Boston newspaper, in a leading First Circuit case granting access rights. On behalf of a New Hampshire newspaper he persuaded the New Hampshire Supreme Court to adopt novel procedures under the state’s “Right-to-Know” law. In 2007, he represented a television network in a high profile defamation case.
Throughout his career, Joe has been active in legal and community organizations. He has been a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1984 and founded its Massachusetts Superior Court Mediation Program. He chaired the College's Emil Gumpert Committee, and was a member of its National Trial Competition Committee. He served as Chair of the Massachusetts Clients’ Security Board, and was the founding Chair of the Law Clerks’ Society of the Supreme Judicial Court. For many years, he was a Trustee of Roxbury Community College. He is a member of the Judiciary-Media Committee of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, a member of the American Law Institute and an adjunct professor at Boston College Law School, where he teaches a First Amendment litigation seminar. In November 2008 he will be a visiting Lecturer at Adygheya State University in Russia.
For the last fifteen years, he has spoken at the Practising Law Institute’s annual Communications Law program in New York. He is co-editor of “Damages in Massachusetts Litigation” (MCLE) and has published numerous articles and book reviews. He lectures regularly at litigation and media law programs. He has been listed for more than 10 years in The Best Lawyers in America under both business litigation and First Amendment litigation. In 2007, Joe was selected as one of the top 100 Massachusetts Super Lawyers for the fourth consecutive year, and named one of the top 100 New England Super Lawyers. He is named in Chambers USA 2007 and 2008 as one of the country’s leading First Amended lawyers.
Bar Admissions- Massachusetts
- New Hampshire
- New York
- United States Supreme Court
- District Court of Massachusetts
- First, Second, Fifth and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals
Education- Harvard Law School, LL.B., 1964
- Brown University, A.B., magna cum laude, 1961
NoteworthyMemberships- American Bar Association
- Massachusetts Bar Association
- Boston Bar Association
- American College of Trial Lawyers
- American Law Institute
- International Academy of Trial Lawyers
|
