Joseph Sclafani joined the Brunini Firm in 2003 after working two years in the securities litigation section at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Palo Alto, California office. He is a member of one of the Firm's litigation departments and currently concentrates his practice in the areas of general civil litigation and appellate practice. Joseph has been recognized by Benchmark: Appellate, The Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, as a leading Appellate attorney in the Fifth Circuit and a "preeminent Appellate Practitioner in the country." He has also been named a Mid-South Rising Star in Civil Litigation Defense.

Joseph received his J.D. summa cum laude from Mississippi College School of Law where he served as the Articles Editor of the Law Review, was a member of the Moot Court Board and a Hearin-Hess Scholar, and earned American Jurisprudence Awards for best paper in seven classes. After graduation, Joseph served as a law clerk to the Honorable E. Grady Jolly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Representative Matters

• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a large insurance company and two of its former employees in a qui tam case filed pursuant to the Federal False Claims Act.  The Plaintiff sought damages and penalties in excess of 100 million dollars. 
• Successfully pursued claims pursuant to the Mississippi Securities Act and obtained a large settlement on behalf of a group of investors that were mislead by material misrepresentations contained in a private placement memorandum.
• Successfully pursued claims pursuant to Federal and State securities laws and obtained a mid-seven figure settlement on behalf of a group of investors that were defrauded in connection with their purchase of shares in a publicly traded company.
• Obtained a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversing a verdict against a wood treating company and rendering judgment in favor of the defendant. 
• Represented a number of publicly traded companies in private securities class actions and merger-related litigation.
• Represented a large national pharmaceutical company in a series of product liability/ false advertising cases and obtained dismissal of several hundred claims at no settlement cost to the client.  At the peak of this litigation, there were 79 cases pending in Mississippi State and Federal Courts involving the claims of over 1100 plaintiffs. 
• Received a series of favorable rulings on interlocutory appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court on various venue and joinder-related issues.   
• Presently represent national real estate franchisors in disputes with franchisees.
• Successfully defended a national real estate franchisor in a series of consumer fraud/ RICO cases pending in Federal Court. 

REPORTED DECISIONS

• Purdue v. Heffner, 904 So.2d 100 ( Miss. 2004).
• ERA Franchise Systems v. Mathis, 931 So.2d 1278 ( Miss. 2006).
• Price v. Purdue, 920 So.2d 479 ( Miss. 2006).
• Qualcomm, Inc. v. Am. Wireless Group, 980 So.2d 261 ( Miss. 2007).
• Barnes v. Koppers, 534 F.3d 357 (5th Cir. 2008).
• Mathis v. ERA Franchise Systems, Inc., 2009 WL 3765545 ( Miss. 2009).

Speeches & Publications

• "Stacking the Deck Against the Insurance Industry," 19 Miss. C.L. Rev. 251 (1998).

Community & Professional Activities

• Mississippi Bar Association
• Fifth Circuit Bar Association
• California Bar Association
• Federalist Society
• Charles Clark Inn of Court