On the criminal defense side, Joel has tried numerous homicide and felony cases in various State and Federal courts. Joel has been a frequent lecturer before professional groups, including at the American Bar Association annual meeting, the Michigan Bar Association annual meeting, the Practicing Law Institute(seminar in Las Vegas on insurance company bad faith liability), the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Union County Bar Association (NJ). He also taught at Pace Law School.

Significant Matters and Cases:
Joel has litigated many different types of cases in many different courts. Click at Representative Matters for a description of some of the cases.

 Professional and Community Involvement:
• Adjunct Professor, Pace University School of Law
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, New York State Bar Association
• Member, Westchester County Bar Association
• Member, White Plains Bar Association (President, 2000-2002)
• Judge, Westchester County Court (1977)
• Education
• L.L.B., cum laude, New York University School of Law, 1959 (Order of the Coif)
• B.A., City College of New York, 1954

Admitted to Practice
• New York, 1959
• United States District Court, Southern District of New York, 1960
• United States District Court, Connecticut, 1965
• United States District Court, Western District of New York, 1967
• United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1968
• United States Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit, 1968
• United States Supreme Court, 1969
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, 1971
• United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, 1973
• United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, 1973
• United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, 1976
• Military Service
• U. S. Army, 23rd Military Police Company, 1954-56.

Areas of Law:

Appellate Practice Commercial Litigation, Matrimonial and Family Law , Criminal Law

Recent Cases

• Appellate Litigation – Nazi Looted Art – In Re Estate of Oscar Stettiner, 148 A.D.3d 184 (1^st Dep’t 2017), (sub. nom. Matter of Estate of Stettiner, 30 NY3d 907 (2017)) lv. App. Den. 30 N.Y.3d 907 (2017). In a case involving a claim for restitution of a multi-million-dollar Modigliani painting confiscated by the Nazis in Paris toward the end of World War II, Joel represented the Limited Ancillary Administrator appointed by the Surrogate of New York County to represent the Estate making the claim for restitution.  After the Surrogate found that the claim of fraud was completely baseless, respondent appealed.  In a unanimous opinion, the First Department affirmed the Surrogate’s ruling and the New York Court of Appeals denied defendants’ leave to appeal.
• Appellate Litigation – Nazi Looted Art – Maestracci v. Helly Nahmad Gallery, Inc., 155 A.D.3d 401 (1^st Dep’t 2017) In this case there were cross appeals from a Supreme Court ruling which struck the sole heir of Oscar Stettiner, a grandson, for lack of standing, replacing him with the Limited Administrator appointed by the Surrogate.  Defendants appealed the appointment of the Administrator as a plaintiff.  Joel appealed the striking of the sole heir as a plaintiff for lack of standing.  The Appellate Division ruled in favor of plaintiff on both issues, restored the standing of the grandson and rejected all of defendants’ claims.  Defendants’ attempt to appeal to the Court of Appeals was also unsuccessful.