Member
Attorneys
Joseph P. Moriarty
Member
Joe defends clients in complex litigation and high-stakes claims. A partner in the firm’s Catastrophic Loss & Tort Defense and OSHA & VOSH Defense practice groups, he focuses on clients in industries such as commercial transportation, manufacturing, construction, property owners, REITs, property managers, and professionals, including architects, engineers, and surveyors.
Clients call Joe first because he moves quickly and with purpose. He leads 24/7 rapid responses to serious incidents across Virginia and neighboring states, coordinating with consultants and technical experts to secure scenes, preserve evidence, and position matters for the best possible outcomes. Joe frequently untangles risk-transfer issues involving indemnity and additional insured provisions. When OSHA or VOSH knocks, he guides employers through inspections, contests citations, and protects business continuity throughout the process.
Joe serves as the Tidewater Director on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys (VADA), a statewide bar organization comprising over 850 members dedicated to enhancing civil trial practice, showing his leadership in the legal community. He is also active in the Themis Advocates Group, a network of 27 firms with over 700 attorneys, representing clients in 45 states, giving clients access to a trusted national defense network.
When trucking collisions threatened eight-figure exposure, Joe mobilized his team within hours, securing ECM data, documenting the scene, and coordinating accident reconstruction. The early fact record preserved key defenses and enabled a strategic resolution that aligned legal risk with business priorities. Joe serves as panel counsel for national transportation carriers in Virginia and surrounding states, and often manages rapid-response investigations.
Joe defends design-build firms, civil engineering firms, highway and bridge construction companies, and subcontractors involved in large infrastructure projects, where work-zone design, traffic control devices, and subcontractor performance are at the forefront. He pairs technical analysis with contract strategy to analyze negligence allegations while leveraging indemnity and additional insured rights.
Representing manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, Joe leads origin-and-cause inquiries under NFPA 921, manages evidence preservation, and builds the scientific record needed to challenge defect and causation theories. His past cases include coordinating fire and explosion investigations for product manufacturers facing high-exposure claims related to burn injuries, fatalities, and significant property damage.
Joe defends claims involving alleged unsafe conditions, negligent security, and assault and battery. Recent work includes premises actions for clients in various settings, including apartments, offices, shopping centers, retail stores, and rental properties.
Employers turn to Joe when regulators arrive. He prepares employers for interviews, navigates document demands, contests citations where warranted, and negotiates abatement demands. Examples of clientele span a large steel mill, a crane and construction machinery manufacturer, a food distribution plant, a wood chipper processing plant, poultry plants, general contractors and subcontractors, Virginia cities and counties, healthcare facilities, a national multi-unit property management company, warehouses, dog groomers, HVAC companies, and non-profits.
As panel counsel to heavy civil and transportation construction companies, Joe frequently resolves complex contractual disputes involving indemnity and additional insured obligations, aligning defense strategy with insurance coverage and tender outcomes to control costs and mitigate risk. These issues arise regularly in his representation of trucking companies, heavy highway and bridge construction companies, and product manufacturers.
Joe prosecutes and defends coverage disputes, providing coverage opinions, litigating challenges to coverage denials, and protecting against extra-contractual claims—work that dovetails with his Litigation–Insurance recognition and coverage dispute experience.
Active in the Themis Advocates Group, Joe taps a nationwide bench of trial lawyers for mock trials, emerging-issues programs, and coordinated strategy on multistate exposures—providing clients with a scalable, coast-to-coast resource set.
“Structured for Solutions” involves focusing on critical issues and developing a case-specific strategy to achieve the most favorable outcome. It goes beyond standard approaches by exploring new angles and unconventional solutions, allowing for more effective and efficient problem-solving. This approach combines assertiveness with thorough preparation, aiming for early resolution while remaining prepared to take cases to trial if necessary.
Norfolk Office
