Top Rated General Litigation Attorney in Santa Rosa, CA

Attorney Joseph A. Piasta II is the founder of the Law Offices of Joseph A. Piasta II in Santa Rosa, California. Nationally recognized as one of the top civil trial attorneys in the country, Mr. Piasta has achieved unprecedented success throughout his long and distinguished career. He currently represents clients throughout Northern California as well as in various jurisdictions across the U.S. particularly in the areas of elder financial abuse, fraud against the elderly and breaches of fiduciary duty.

A 1973 cum laude graduate of the University of San Francisco, Mr. Piasta returned to his alma mater and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1976, graduating as a member of the McAuliffe Honor Society. In 1981, Mr. Piasta earned his master's degree in law summa cum laude from The George Washington University Law School with an emphasis on administrative and land use litigation.

Since 1977, Mr. Piasta has served in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the U.S. Army. He began his service as a prosecutor and then eventually became senior defense counsel. During this time, Mr. Piasta discovered his driving passion for trying cases in front of juries, and he found great reward in tackling the most complex and challenging issues before the courts. He entered private practice after his release from active duty in 1981; however, he continued his service as a member of the JAG Reserve until his retirement in 2007.

Mr. Piasta's time in private practice has borne the same level of success as his time serving the country. Throughout the course of his career, he has successfully handled thousands of cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants alike involving a host of legal issues from sexual harassment and hostile work environments to sexual abuse and elder abuse to fraudulent mergers and acquisitions, and broker fraud. Drawing upon his JAG experience, he continues to defend soldiers who face serious charges.

A leader in his field, Mr. Piasta co-authored the California Discovery Practice Handbook, and he has served on the adjunct legal faculty at the University of San Francisco School of Law since 1996. He is also heavily involved with his legal community as evidenced by his memberships with the American Board of Trial Advocates and his service as president of the Redwood Empire Trial Lawyers Association, among his other professional affiliations.