Joseph George Harraka Jr

Joseph G. Harraka, Jr. is a partner in Becker Meisel's litigation department, where he serves as chair of its insurance coverage group.  Mr. Harraka also serves as a member of the firm's executive committee, which is responsible for managing the firm's business operations.  He received an AV peer review rating for legal ability and ethical standards in 2000 from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest peer-based ranking awarded by Martindale, and was selected for inclusion on the New Jersey Super Lawyers 2012 list in the area of Insurance Coverage. Super Lawyers selects attorneys using a multiphase rating process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with third-party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.  The Super Lawyers selection process involves three basic steps: creation of the candidate pool; evaluation of candidates by the research department; and peer evaluation by practice area. 

During the course of his almost 30 years of practice, Mr. Harraka has been involved in, and has served as lead trial counsel for, civil and business litigation matters in various state, federal, and bankruptcy courts. In addition, he has handled numerous arbitrations pending before various alternative dispute forums and has significant experience in resolving cases without the need for trial through various alternative dispute methods.  Mr. Harraka prides himself on being an aggressive advocate for his clients but never losing sight of what makes business and economic sense. 

Mr. Harraka has focused his practice on representing insurance companies, financial institutions, real estate developers, contractors, and brokerage firms.  Representative clients include The Hartford, St. Paul Travelers, Allied World, QBE The Americas, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, Humana, Columbia Bank, Balboa Capital Corporation, and other large and medium-sized businesses.  His areas of special experience include insurance coverage, construction defect related issues, breach of contract, real estate, fraud, securities, and other complex commercial litigation matters.

Mr. Harraka is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New York Bar Association, the State Bar of California, and the American Bar Association, and has been active in state and local bar activities. Mr. Harraka frequently writes articles for a number of publications and recently published various articles in the New Jersey Law Journal and insurance trade industry-related journals.