Joseph L. Buckley is a member of the Firm's Management Committee and Chair of the Litigation Department. He has over 35 years of first chair trial experience in a wide variety of complex cases in federal and state courts in New Jersey and New York. According to a Chambers USA Guide, Mr. Buckley "is considered one of the leading business litigators in New Jersey" and "makes a very favorable impression on clients, who say ‘on experience and knowledge alone he is well worth recommending.'" He is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney.
As Chair of the Firm's Litigation Department, Mr. Buckley was interviewed and extensively quoted in an article about the Department, which was named the "2016 General Litigation Department of the Year Winner, Midsized Firm" by the New Jersey Law Journal. In February of 2017, on behalf of the Firm, Mr. Buckley accepted Benchmark Litigation’s award for “2017 New Jersey Firm of the Year;” in February of 2018, Mr. Buckley accepted that organization's award for "2018 New Jersey Firm of the Year." In August of 2018, Mr. Buckley was extensively quoted in a Law360 article entitled "New Jersey Powerhouse: Sills Cummis," in which the Firm was recognized as a New Jersey Powerhouse by Law360.
Mr. Buckley serves as leader of the Firm’s Banking Litigation Group. He has handled many large litigations for nationally prominent banks, overseeing the process from inception to trial and appeal. He has served as lead counsel to major national banks and their subsidiaries in the defense of putative class action lawsuits venued in state and federal courts in New Jersey and elsewhere, relating to subjects as diverse as equipment leasing, credit insurance, information security, credit cards, ATM fees and an alleged conspiracy to fix interest rates. He has successfully defended large national banks in lawsuits in which tens of millions of dollars in damages were at issue, and has also assisted banks in the recovery of many millions of dollars from borrowers and others.
In 2015, Mr. Buckley represented the State of New Jersey in a large, commercial litigation and eventual settlement of a dispute with Hammerman & Gainer, Inc. (HGI), the principal contractor involved in recovery efforts in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy. The settlement amounted to approximately a third of HGI’s demand.
In addition, for more than 25 years, Mr. Buckley has represented data and analytics firms and other computer technology companies in state and federal courts in litigations pertaining to technology services and equipment. He also litigates on behalf of companies that invest in real estate.
Mr. Buckley also represents financial and other corporate clients in litigations pertaining to financial services, and in so doing has extensive experience in class action and derivative litigation. Mr. Buckley also represents the subsidiaries of European automobile manufacturers.
After 25 days of trial in the Superior Court of Morris County, Mr. Buckley obtained a multi-million dollar verdict for lost profits on behalf of a client in a dispute between partners of an investment advisory firm. That verdict was affirmed on appeal. Since that trial, Mr. Buckley has assisted the same client in litigation against the same adversary in New Jersey, New York and Delaware in obtaining awards and recoveries well in excess of $20 million.