Biography
Joe has twenty-two years of experience practicing law, including four years as an attorney with Ammarell Deasy, LLP. His work with the firm focuses on litigation and dispute resolution in the substantive area Family Law in the Colorado state courts. Joe has resolved a significant number of complicated and high conflict marital dissolution and child custody cases since joining the firm with thorough preparation, knowledge of substantive and procedural law, and strong negotiation and trial skills. His strategic and tailored approach to each individual case results in successful outcomes for clients often dealing with difficult circumstances. Joe also has background in finance and this experience assists clients with navigating, valuing, and equitably dividing complex and significant marital estates to include direct involvement with the engagement and effective use of expert witnesses. Prior to joining Ammarell Deasy, LLP, Joe worked at two prominent law firms in Colorado and Vermont, and as a solo practitioner in Colorado for several years with significant experience in all aspects of Family Law, Business and Commercial Law, and selected Personal Injury and Criminal Defense matters. Joe is creative and skilled with the factual development of cases, investigation, discovery, legal procedure, legal research, legal writing, trial, and appellate advocacy. Joe's present dynamic Family Law practice involves cases from client intake through the trial of contested issues, including the preparation and Filing of Petition for Dissolution, Service of Petition, Responsive Pleadings, Motion Practice, 16.2 Financial Disclosures, Temporary Orders, Allocation of Parental Responsibilities, Child Support, Spousal Maintenance, Business Valuation, Discovery, Depositions, Preparation and Examination of Lay and Expert Witnesses, Child and Family Investigation, Parental Responsibilities Evaluation, Enforcement of Orders, Punitive Contempt, Remedial Contempt, Mediation, Arbitration, Evidence, Permanent Orders, Trial Practice, and Appellate Practice. Joe earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1993 with areas of emphasis in Finance and International Business. In 2000, he earned his Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, from Suffolk University Law School in Boston. He is licensed to practice law in Colorado State and Federal Courts, Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont. He is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, CBA Family Law Section, CBA Litigation Section, and the Arapahoe County Bar Association. Joe has good things to say about the firm: "I enjoy our multi-disciplined approach to complex Family Law litigation and the team-first environment employed at Ammarell Deasy, LLP on behalf of clients seeking clarity and direction in the most difficult of legal circumstances. My practical life and family experiences over many years are helpful in advising and advocating for clients in difficult and high conflict situations." Joe believes in the phrase "best interests of the children" and does not just present it as legal doctrine. He has a desire to help individual clients with challenging circumstances, and his intellectual curiosity is piqued by the highly variable legal and evidentiary issues presented in Family Law cases. He has a knack for creating a clear picture of each case for the Court one detail at a time. Joe presently resides in the South Metro Denver area with his wife, daughter, son, dog, and cat. In addition to balancing his family and work obligations, Joe tries to remain active in and around the Rocky Mountain West. Outside of the practice of law, he enjoys running, hiking, swimming, sports, weather, leisure reading, travel, alpine and Nordic recreation, the CU Buffs, listening to and playing music on guitar, and spending time with his family in Colorado, California, and New England. He is an aging distance runner and endurance athlete, having competed in several marathons and triathlons through the years. Joe and his wife presently focus much of their free time guiding and supporting their own two children in their individual journeys toward adulthood. Joe was born and raised in Rhode Island and maintains a very strong connection to his roots in Southern New England. Prior to moving to Colorado from New England several years ago, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Massachusetts, where he successfully prosecuted both simple and complex criminal cases at the grand jury, trial, and appellate levels. He also assisted and advised law enforcement agencies with complex, time-sensitive search warrant applications and the execution of police searches to ensure the preservation of evidence necessary for important criminal investigations and prosecutions. While there, he also briefed and argued an issue of first impression in Fourth Amendment Search and Seizure, Commonwealth v. Dora, 57 Mass. App. Ct. 141 (2003), which became a published opinion of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Prior to becoming an attorney, he worked for several years as an accountant and financial professional at a property and casualty insurance company in Boston. Joe now brings his significant prior experience and know-how to Family Law cases involving high conflict and complex financial evidence.