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Joseph G. Harraka, Jr. is a partner in the Firm's Litigation Department, where he serves as Chairman of its Insurance Coverage Group and as the Co-Chairman of the Firm’s Trucking and Logistics Group.  Mr. Harraka participates in the management of the Firm by serving as a member of the Firm's Executive Committee, which is responsible for handling the Firm's business operations. 

 

During the course of his approximately 35 years of legal practice, Mr. Harraka has been involved in, and has served as lead counsel for, litigation matters in various state, federal, and bankruptcy courts and has first chaired numerous trials for the Firm’s clients.  He has also argued before various state and federal appellate courts, including participating in recent oral arguments held before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the New Jersey Supreme Court.  In addition, he has handled numerous arbitrations and mediation sessions for the Firm’s clients and has significant experience in resolving cases through various alternative dispute methods.  He is also a court appointed and trained mediator. 

 

Mr. Harraka received an AV Preeminent peer review rating for both his legal ability and his ethical standards in 2000 from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest peer-based ranking awarded by that prominent legal information services related company. He has continuously maintained that rating for over the past 20 years.  He has also been selected for inclusion on the New Jersey Super Lawyers list on a number of occasions in the area of Insurance Coverage.*  Mr. Harraka prides himself on being an aggressive and zealous advocate for his clients but one who never loses sight of what is in the client’s best business and economic interests.   In doing so, he takes full advantage of his MBA degree and his JD degree, in understanding both his clients’ business and legal needs.

  

Mr. Harraka is licensed to practice law in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and California.  He is a member of the New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, the State Bar of California, and the American Bar Association, and has been active in national, state, and local bar association activities. Mr. Harraka has recently published various articles in the New Jersey Law Journal and various insurance and transportation trade industry-related journals.  He has served as a moderator and has been a speaker at ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee CLE seminars and ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice section CLE seminars for the past several years.  He has also written and has participated as a moderator and speaker at webinars and podcasts about a number of legal and business related issues that impact the Trucking and Logistics Industry.

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Panels and Publications

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• BIDEN ADMINSTRATION’S FINAL RULE REGARDING INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CLASSIFICATIONS:   January 16, 2024   Read More

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• "Greatest Threat to Your Transportation Business Could Be From Within":  July 2022  In this episode of The Hot Seat Podcast, Spencer Tenney sits down with Joe Harraka and Anthony Vizzoni, both partners at Becker Legal, to discuss how to protect your business from itself  View Recording

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• N.J. District Court Determines Truck Drivers Were Wrongfully Classified As Independent Contractors Under ABC Test:  June 14, 2022    Read More

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• Webinar: Successful Strategies for Tackling the Challenges Presented by COVID-19:  March 16, 2021  View Recording

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• US DOL Issues Opinion Letter Addressing Independent Contractors Status:  January 21, 2021  Read More

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• "Federal Department of Labor Announces Final Rule on Independent Contractor Status under Fair Labor Standards Act ":  January 7, 2021  Read More

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• "Estes vs. LTL Carrier Lawsuit Foreshadows Covid-19 Litigation":  December 15, 2020  Read More

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• OVERCHARGED TRUCKERS CASE AGAINST OCEAN CARRIERS ADVANCES PER JUDGE’S RULING:  November 19, 2020   Read More

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• ​"Discussing the Current State of the Trucking & Logistics Industry with Lisa Yakomin":  October 22, 2020   Read More

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• NJ Court Allows COVID-Related Business Interruption Claim:  September 30, 2020    Read More​​

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• NJ SUPREME COURT RULES THAT NJ ARBITRATION LAW APPLIES TO FAA EXEMPT TRUCKERS:  July 15, 2020  Read More

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• Returning to the Workplace under the "New Normal": How to Protect your Company, Employees and Customers Post COVID 19:  June 24, 2020  View Recording

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• CARES Act and FFCRA: A Webinar Covering the Benefits of the Federal Stimulus Package for the Transportation Industry:  April 22, 2020    View Recording​

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• "Five Questions About Surviving the COVID-19 Crisis with Mike DeStasio":  April 21, 2020  Read More

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• "Federal Government Provides Assistance to Small Businesses to Help Offset Covid-19 Losses":  April 2, 2022   ​Read More

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• "Governor Phil Murphy Signs a Legislative Package which He states is Meant to Combat Worker Misclassification  and Exploitation.”:  January 28, 2020   Read More

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• Transportation Company May Be Sued Over Harassment by Non- Employee:  January 17, 2019  Read More

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• Third Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Truckers' State Wage:  October 18, 2017   Read More

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