Joseph A. Garofolo

Partner

Joseph A. Garofolo has broad knowledge and experience as a litigator and transactional attorney in the fields of employee benefits and business law. Joe believes that aggressive and diligent representation is critical to protect client interests in litigation and transactional settings. He also has practical experience, having acted as a fiduciary with respect to benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), and businesses.

Joe received a 2012 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award from California Lawyer magazine and has been selected to the Northern California Super Lawyers list since 2014. More information regarding the CLAY Award can be accessed here.

In the field of employee benefits, Joe has advised clients on fiduciary compliance, service provider arrangements, and other issues relating to the design, management, and administration of retirement and health and welfare plans. In the field of business law, he has served as counsel with regard to various matters, including owner disagreements and business dissolution, contract disputes and negotiation, alleged unfair business practices, and non-compete provisions.

Joe has represented businesses, participants and beneficiaries, service providers, plan sponsors, investment advisers, and medical providers. He has significant experience with complex litigation, including class actions. Joe has appeared as counsel in California state court and in federal courts in California, Alabama, Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia. He has extensive appellate experience and has successfully argued before an en banc panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (video of the argument is available here). Joe has also been retained as an expert witness in federal and state court litigation.

From 2003 through 2010, in addition to practicing law, Joe was a principal with ERISA Consulting Group, a company that offers expert witness, independent fiduciary, and consulting services. While with ERISA Consulting Group, he provided consulting advice with respect to plan administration and was involved in independent fiduciary engagements relating to a variety of plans.

Joe began his career in the field of employee benefits with the U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (now the Employee Benefits Security Administration). At the Department of Labor, he was responsible for research and analysis relating to government investigations of alleged ERISA violations in the Detroit District Office.

On February 15, 2012, Joe was one of two attorneys who received CLAY Awards in the field of employee benefits. CLAY Awards recognize attorneys throughout the State of California who have profoundly impacted the law. The honor relates to Joe’s work in Cyr v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, a case where he represented the plaintiff at the trial level and argued before an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Joe has been selected to the Northern California Super Lawyers list since 2014. Super Lawyers is a Thomson Reuters rating service of lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. Five percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers.

Joe is licensed to practice law in the State of California and is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Northern District of California, and the Central District of California. He holds a Group Benefits Associate designation awarded through a joint program of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a California real estate broker’s license (inactive).

Joe graduated with a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

Excerpt of Joe’s oral argument in 2011 before an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Contact

Tel: (415) 981-9775
Fax: (415) 981-8870
E-mail: jgarofolo@garofololaw.com

State Bar Admissions, Court Admissions, and Licenses

Supreme Court of the United States
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S.D.C. for the Northern District of California
U.S.D.C. for the Central District of California
State Bar of California
California Real Estate Broker (inactive)

Awards and Recognitions

2012 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Award (Employee Benefits)
Selected to 2014 – 2023 Northern California Super Lawyers List

Professional Associations

American Bar Association
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
National Center for Employee Ownership
Western Pension & Benefits Council

Education

J.D., University of Michigan Law School
B.S., Bus. Admin., University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
Group Benefits Associate, IFEBP & Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Professional Associations

American Bar Association
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
National Center for Employee Ownership
Western Pension & Benefits Council

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