Joseph A. Gallo

Joe Gallo is a Partner in MKCI’s Florham Park, NJ office. With over 35 years of experience, Joe has defended many types of cases, including but not limited to claims involving public entities and their employees, construction defect and site accidents, general liability, dram shop, the Child Victims Act, child sexual abuse, premises liability, product liability, architect and engineer liability, attorney professional liability, toxic tort, asbestos, wrongful death, false arrest, excessive force, and environmental torts. He has handled thousands of cases and claims involving personal injury and property damage, and is also experienced in appellate practice. Over the course of his career, Joe has represented numerous clients including school districts, principals, administrators, teachers, cities, towns, boroughs, elected officials, police officers across all rankings, correctional officers, wardens, prisons, commercial property owners, property managers, residential homeowners, snow removal contractors, retail establishments, restaurants, general contractors, subcontractors, construction managers, product manufacturers, product distributors, product sellers, licensed professionals, oil companies, gas stations and trucking companies.

Joe’s focus on the defense of a matter is always based on responsiveness, collaborative work style and results-oriented strategies. Placing a high premium on consistently exceeding clients’ expectations, Joe quickly identifies potential risks and works in concert with clients to develop focused and effective defense tactics that are also cost-effective. Once a client has decided that a matter cannot be resolved prior to trial, Joe stands ready and willing to take the case to verdict. He has over 30 jury verdicts to his name, and has also prepared several dozen cases for trial that resolved at some point prior to jury deliberation. His published opinions include: Cameron v. South Jersey Pubs, 460 NJ Super 156 (App. Div. 2019) (class actions); Halvorsen v. Villamil, 429 NJ Super 568 (App Div. 2013) (Dram shop); A&M Sprinkler v. American Sprinkler, 423 NJ Super 528 (App. Div. 2012); McColley v. Edison Corp., 303 NJ Super 420 (App. Div. 1997) (premises); Bahrle v. Exxon Corp, 145 NJ 144 (1996) (toxic tort); McWilliams v. Yamaha Motor Corp, 987 F2d 200 (3d Cir. 1992) (product liability); Lear v. Township of Piscataway, 236 NJ Super 550 (App. Div. 1989) (Section 1983) and Riley v. Kaye, 664 FSupp 926 (D.N.J. 1991) (Section 1983).

In addition to his litigation experience, Joe is a member of MKCI’s trial team, as well as a member of the MKCI Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Over the years, Joe has lectured at CLE seminars on topics such as selecting a jury in a civil case, legal ethics, litigating slip, trip and fall cases in New Jersey, asbestos and talc, deposition do’s and don’ts, keys to jury selection in a civil case, and premises liability in New Jersey.

From 2009-2018, Joe served as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Jury Selection in Criminal and Civil Trials. He has also been a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Deposition Checklists and Strategies by James Publishing. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Joe is a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, a certification granted by the New Jersey Supreme Court to less than 2% of attorneys in New Jersey. Since 1993, Joe has received the Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent rating and has also been selected as one of the Top Lawyers of New Jersey and New Jersey’s Top Legal Minds in General Practice, Personal Injury and Product Liability as published in Inside Jersey.*

Prior to joining MKCI in 2014, Joe was employed with a multi-state insurance defense firm and was Chair of its New Jersey General Liability Group.

When not on the front lines of litigation, Joe enjoys spending quality time with his family and is especially proud of the achievements of his four grown children.

Joe obtained his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Rutgers University.

* View peer-review methodologies at martindale.com, bestlawyers.com, and superlawyers.com. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.