Before joining Arent Fox, Joe was a partner at another prominent law firm.

Joe has been an active member of the District of Columbia Bar, and has held a number of significant positions in that organization. He served for six years on the Steering Committee of the DC Bar’s Tax Section, and chaired the Section for three years. Previously, Joe chaired several of the Section’s committees, including service as the founding chair of the Section's state and local taxes committee.

He is also a member of the American Bar Association and served, by appointment of the ABA president, as a member of the Advisory Commission to the ABA’s Committee on Law and the Electoral Process.

Joe has served in a number of national political positions, including pro bono service as General Counsel of the 1984 Democratic National Convention Committee (1983-84) and as General Counsel of the national Democratic Party (DNC) (1985-89). He was a senior legal advisor to the 1992 Clinton/Gore campaign and also a member of the 1992 Clinton Presidential Transition Team.

Joe has been the author and editor of several notable publications:

• “'Tax Shelter’ Disclosure and List Maintenance Rules,” The Practical Tax Lawyer; 2005 (vol. 19, no. 3), co-written with Wendi L. Kotzen and David B. Bailey
• “Obtaining an Abandonment or Worthlessness Deduction for a Partnership Interest,” J Part. Tax; spring 1998 at 42
• Editor, tax chapters supplement to Real Estate Development: Long-Term Care and Retirement Facilities (Matthew Bender); 1989-1991
• Income and Franchise Taxation chapters, District of Columbia Bar Practice Manual

Joe is married, with one son. His first full-time job was as director of field operations for a US Senate nominee, and he has maintained an interest and involvement in politics and public policy ever since. Over the years, he has held leadership positions in various exempt charitable and educational organizations, including chair of the Kennedy School’s national alumni association, president of a DC public school PTA, trustee of a center and school for children and adults with learning disabilities, and board member of the supporting organization for a major DC public recreation facility. In his spare time he is generally reading or fixing something around his home, but wishes he were at a beach engaged in creative loafing.