When numbers matter, Joe’s background is unparalleled.

An attorney, CPA, and experienced business owner, Joe combines law, accounting, and business acumen to provide fully integrated legal counsel in complex civil, criminal, and tax cases.

Joe represents clients in high-stakes civil and criminal tax controversy litigation, sophisticated civil litigation, and federal and state criminal defense matters. Effective tax controversy representation requires a unique blend of substantive tax knowledge and litigation skills. As a CPA, Joe excels at digging into the evidence, which invariably includes performing a deep dive into the tax return forms, schedules, and numbers. A perfect fit for cases both civil and criminal, Joe routinely handles everything from investigation/audit, administrative appeal, trial (including jury trials), and appeal. Indeed, while he routinely serves as trial counsel, Joe has also been qualified to testify as an expert witness in federal criminal tax trials in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Based in Florida with a nationwide practice and unique experience in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Joe litigates cases involving tax shelter and refund controversies, the Bank Secrecy Act, Freedom of Information Act actions, Foreign Bank Account Reports (“FBAR”), and the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure (“OVDP”) Program, parallel Internal Revenue Service – Canadian Revenue Agency audits, the Internal Revenue Code’s worldwide taxation regime, and other criminal and civil matters. Joe also represents clients in complex civil litigation where accounting and/or health care are at issue.

The numbers speak for themselves: Joe has tried more than 50 civil and criminal cases at the federal, state, and territorial levels, including jury trials before the United States District Courts, and bench trials before the U.S. Tax Court. Additionally, Joe has litigated more than 75 appeals before the United States Circuit Courts, and he has participated in more than 30 federal appellate oral arguments.

In addition to litigation, Joe assists clients in structuring transactions, addressing governmental compliance issues after the transaction has been consummated, and providing any post-transaction litigation support at the audit, trial, and appellate levels.

Joe has been certified by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization as an expert – a “Board Certified Specialist” (“BCS”) – in the field of criminal appellate litigation. There are approximately 100,000 attorneys licensed to practice law in the State of Florida and Joe is one of the less than 60 that are board certified in Criminal Appellate Law. Board Certification required Joe to pass a separate examination administered by the Florida Bar and undergo peer review for competence and professionalism in the practice of law.

Before joining Margulis, Gelfand, Lambson & DiRuzzo as a partner, Joe was a partner at a midsized law firm in Florida and worked at a law firm in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Joe began his legal career with the Office of the Public Defender in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he won the 2003 Trial Attorney of the Year, held the office trial record, and handled all stages of litigation. As a CPA, Joe served as a taxation associate of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, in New York City, where he worked in the international taxation department. While at PwC, Joe worked on numerous projects, including multi-million dollar divestitures and global restructurings, FAS 109 and FIN 48 tax accounting calculations and disclosures, reviewed SEC filings and assessed tax attributes of potential targets for clients’ tax due diligence, assisted in the tax calculations under GAAP for quarterly and annual SEC filings and financial statement “carve-outs” for corporate spin-offs, and numerous merger and acquisition deals.

Joe earned his undergraduate degree from Mary Washington College in Virginia, his bachelor’s in accounting from Florida International University, his Master’s of Accounting from the University of Connecticut School of Business, his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law, and his graduate degree in healthcare law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Joe is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York, New Jersey, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a CPA in Florida, and is a solicitor in England and Wales (inactive status).

Representative Matters

• Successfully litigated a case of first impression in the 9th Circuit addressing whether accounts held by online poker websites were “foreign accounts” for FBAR purposes. Joe convinced the 9th Circuit to reverse the District Court’s grant of summary judgment and remand with instructions to enter judgment in favor of Joe’s client. (United States v. Hom)
• Successfully tried a Tax Court case regarding the treatment of the transfer of intellectual property. (Meggs v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2019-5)
• Successfully tried a Tax Court case regarding the deductibility of employee business expense deductions, charitable contributions, and accuracy-related penalties. (Rademacher v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2018-43)
• Expert witness in a civil malpractice action regarding criminal defense counsel’s failure to move to dismiss based on a speedy trial violation. (Paylan v. Goudie, et al., case no. 16-CA-01001 (Hillsbrough, Co., Fla.))
• Represented an individual in various Marjorie Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Florida) school shooting cases.
• Counsel for the Plaintiff in a class-action case against the Government of the Virgin Islands regarding the Government of the Virgin Islands’ refusal to pay income tax returns within the time period required by the Internal Revenue Code. (Duncan v. Government of the Virgin Islands, 48 F.4th 195 (3d Cir. 2022))
• Represented, as lead counsel, the New York City Detectives, Lieutenants, and Captains police unions in connection with the “stop and frisk” litigation in the Second Circuit. (Floyd v. City of New York)
• Represented a client in a federal case involving Title III wiretaps, administrative subpoenas, and a warrantless cellular telephone search. (United States v. Torres, case no. 3:13-cr-22 (DVI))
• Obtained a full trial acquittal in a federal criminal case involving the use of Letters Rogatory and Fed. R. Crim. P. 15 depositions (United States v. Williams, case no. 3:10-cr- 39 (D.V.I.)).
• Acted as lead counsel in numerous U.S. Tax Court cases and four District Court of the Virgin Islands tax cases involving alleged Virgin Islands tax shelters and residency disputes. Lead counsel on thirteen District Court cases involving summons enforcement issued to third parties regarding Virgin Islands taxpayer audits.
• Acted as lead counsel on two U.S. District Court Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) cases for Virgin Islands taxpayers.
• Acted as lead counsel on five U.S. Court of Appeals cases involving direct criminal and collateral attack appeals.
• Drafted tax opinions regarding tax consequences of the interplay of the Internal Revenue Code as mirrored to the Virgin Islands for issues of source and effectively connected income for both inbound and outbound transactions.
• Represented a client in a federal, international criminal case involving mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) and taking of foreign evidence via letters rogatory and Fed. R. Crim. P. 15 depositions.