Joseph A. Ginarte, Esq.

Joseph A. Ginarte Founding Firm Partner & General Counsel

In life, a person’s experiences can shape their values, attitude, and often, their profession.

This has been the case for firm founder Joseph A. Ginarte.

To Ginarte, the success of his firm is directly attributable to a philosophy of hard work and commitment that was instilled in him by his parents when he was a boy growing up in Newark. Both his mother and father worked in factories, and when Ginarte was a college student at Kean University in Union, he too worked in a factory—as a full-time forklift operator—while completing his studies and earning summa cum laude honors. It was that working-class background that drove him to seek a law degree, which he went on to earn at Rutgers School of Law, so that he could represent workers.

“I grew up seeing workers getting hurt and not getting the benefits they deserved,” he says. “My father was a factory worker and I remember seeing him get injured and how it affected our family, especially since he was unable to return to work due to his injuries. I was drawn to the field.”

Joseph Ginarte launched his legal career in 1982, and in the ensuing years, has seen his practice expand into a full service trial law firm with a steadily growing staff of lawyers and support personnel. While many firms have downsized or laid off employees, Ginarte, Gonzalez, & Winograd, LLP has continued to grow.

Workplace injury cases, especially construction accidents, premises and car accident cases, have always been a big part of Ginarte’s—and the firm’s—practice.

In 1995, he handled a case that settled for $9.5 million involving a young worker who fell at a construction site and broke his back, and was rendered quadriplegic. Contending that the defendant owner and general contractor failed to provide proper safety restraints, Ginarte was ready to go to trial when the settlement offer was made.

The firm has also achieved numerous other seven-figure outcomes for injured plaintiffs and in a variety of areas, including defective equipment, trucking accidents and medical malpractice.

“I think what makes our firm distinct is the years of experience that we have, and the personal attention we give our clients,” he says. “We’re committed to doing this work.”

“While a lot of firms have downsized or laid-off employees, our firm continues to grow and hire people. I think it’s because people know we’ll fight for them and that we’ll spend whatever it takes to take a case to trial.”

Ginarte’s work record and his commitment to his clients have also gained him recognition from within the legal profession. He has been an appointee to the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Civil Practice Committee and is also a former president of the Top 100 National Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association. Ginarte is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

His outside interests involve charitable work and donations to nonprofit organizations, particularly in New York / New Jersey. He also enjoys golfing and rooting for the New York Yankees, New York Rangers and the New York Knicks.

Professional Awards & Recognition

• Best Lawyers in America – Personal Injury Litigation: Plaintiff
• Personal Injury Lawyers Marketing & Management Association, Legal Marketing Rock Star Award
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association
• New Jersey Latino Institute Justice Award
• Lawyer of the Year Award – Jersey City Heritage & Festival Parade
• Aspira, Inc. Hall of Fame Inductee
• McDonalds’ HACER Scholarship Program – Sponsor of the Year Award
• Continental News – Lawyer of the Year Award
• National Association of  Real Estate Professionals – Visionary Award Lawyer of the Year Award, Voice Publishing Inc.
• Temas Magazine, New York, New York – Lawyer of the Year
• Tribune Publishing – Lawyer of the Year Award

Education

• J.D. Rutgers School of Law – Rutgers University Editor-in-Chief, Rutgers Law Record Notes Editor, Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal
• B.A. Kean University Magna Cum Laude
• New York University – Continuing Education Program
• Harvard University – United Nations Project Distinguished Delegate Award
• T.C. Williams School of Law – University of Richmond
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): Completion of Training Course in “Construction Safety and Health”

Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice

• U.S. Supreme Court and all other Courts of the State of New Jersey
• United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
• United States District Court – District of New Jersey
• State of New York
• Washington, D.C.

 Professional & Bar Association Memberships

• American Association of Justice – New Jersey
• American Bar Association
• Essex County Bar Association
• New Jersey Supreme Court Civil Practice Committee, Appointee
• Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, Past President
• Board of Directors, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers

Languages

• English
• Spanish
• Portuguese