History

A life long New Yorker, Joseph Sullivan went from Columbia College and Columbia Law School to the District Attorney’s Office of New York County in 1989 at the height of the crack epidemic and during the worst murder crisis in New York City history. Joseph spent five years in Trial Bureau 30 prosecuting everything from misdemeanors to homicide and then spent two years in the Official Corruption Unit. During seven years spent in the office, Joseph handled hundreds of cases, presented hundreds of cases to the Grand Jury, and prosecuted almost thirty cases to verdict, overwhelmingly conviction.

In 1996, Joseph joined Kane, Dalsimer, Sullivan, Kurucz, Levy, Eisele and Richard (“Kane Dalsimer”), an intellectual property law firm. At Kane Dalsimer, Joseph was part of a team that tried copyright cases in federal courts, including Texas and California.

In 1997, Joseph moved to Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a private full-service brokerage firm and investment bank. Shortly, after Joseph joined Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., it was purchased by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and renamed, CIBC Oppenheimer, a division of CIBC World Markets Corp. As a member of the legal department, Joseph defended the firm and its brokers and bankers in securities arbitrations, depositions, court cases, and before regulators such as the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., the NASD, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. During his four years at CIBC Oppenheimer, Joseph handled hundreds of arbitrations and regulatory matters, and tried nearly 50 securities arbitrations in various forums all over the United States.

In 2001, Joseph founded a law firm, Sheindlin & Sullivan, LLP, with a colleague from the District Attorney’s Office. Joseph continued to defend CIBC Oppenehimer but also represented individuals and firms such as SG Cowen Securities Corp. and Lehman Brothers. Furthermore, Joseph represented firms and individuals before regulators, including FINRA, and in state and federal courts in commercial, employment, and criminal disputes. In addition to litigating at the trial level, Joseph litigated the case of Societe Generale v. U.S. Bank National Association, 144 Fed.Appx. 191 (2d Cir. 2005) by summary judgment before Judge Rakoff in the SDNY and then successfully handled the appeal and argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

In 2013, Joseph founded his own law firm, Law Offices of Joseph Sullivan, PLLC. Joseph continues to represent individuals and companies in arbitrations, in state and federal courts, and before regulators. Joseph became a lawyer because he believes that everyone deserves an advocate who will zealously fight for them. Thirty years later, Joseph continues to fight for his clients.