Joseph Calabrese: Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C.

Overview

With 35 years of litigation experience, Joseph offers seasoned judgment and strategic insight in every client engagement. He begins each matter by listening carefully to his clients and understanding their unique circumstances, believing that a clear grasp of their objectives—balanced against the facts—provides the strongest path to success.

A Wall Street veteran, Joseph has served as Associate General Counsel at Citigroup’s Smith Barney and as an Executive Director and senior member of Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Client Litigation Group, where he led Early Dispute Resolution Group for nearly 10 years.

Joseph began his career at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, where he rose through the ranks to the prestigious Homicide Bureau. Over nearly a decade, he tried complex murder cases and brought more than 45 homicide cases to verdict before transitioning to Wall Street.

His practice focuses on securities and regulatory litigation, internal investigations, and regulatory reporting. He has represented clients nationwide and has tried more than 60 arbitrations to award.

Joseph represents a broad spectrum of clients, from individual registered representatives to some of the country’s largest financial institutions. In addition to maintaining a diverse FINRA arbitration portfolio of cases, he regularly represents client in state and federal court.

He is an active FINRA arbitrator and serves as an adjunct professor at St. John’s University School of Law, where he teaches trial advocacy. Joseph also chairs Bressler’s Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the firm’s Senior Investor Committee. He frequently lectures on securities regulation, criminal law and procedure, ethics for in-house and outside counsel, and best practices for working with senior and vulnerable investors. He is also a regular host and panelist for Bressler’s securities litigation webinars.

In addition to his role at Bressler, Joseph serves as the elected Village Justice in the Incorporated Village of Amityville.

Awards & Accolades

Recipient of the 2025 Amityville Historical Society’s Distinguished Community Service Award
Received the New York City Family Court Legal Services Project for Pro Bono Service Award

Recognized by the New York Law Journal as a Two-time finalist in Journal’s Fiction Writing contest
Safe Horizon’s Families of Homicide Victim’s Program - Keynote Speaker, National Victims Rights Week
Cited for Bravery in the rescue of two elderly victims of an apartment fire by the Garden City Fire Department

No aspect of this or any advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the award methodologies can be found here.