About Joseph
Joseph VanZandt devotes his legal practice to representing individuals and public entities who have suffered physical, mental, and financial harm due to corporations’ negligent and reckless actions. Much of Joseph’s recent work has involved representing parents and youth against e-cigarette and social media companies.
Joseph is leading national efforts to hold social media companies accountable for harming young people. The companies’ algorithms target youth with harmful content, and their developers design the platforms to be addictive.
Joseph was appointed by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee Leadership for the federal Social Media MDL consolidated in the Northern District of California, Oakland. He was also appointed by Judge Carolyn Kuhl as co-lead counsel of the Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding (JCCP), a proceeding consolidating social media lawsuits in California state court.
Since 2019, Joseph has been heavily involved in the JUUL e-cigarette litigation, representing individuals, school districts and other public entities who have been impacted by the national youth vaping epidemic. Joseph was appointed by Northern District of California Judge William Orrick to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the national multidistrict litigation (MDL) regarding JUUL. In that role, Joseph has served on the Trial Committee, Law & Briefing Committee, Bellwether Committee, Expert Committee, and Discovery Committee. Joseph has been selected to serve on the trial teams for the first MDL bellwether trials.
Previously, Joseph was instrumental in helping his law partner and Mass Torts Section Head, Andy Birchfield, manage the national MDL for the blood thinner Xarelto and worked on the trial teams for multiple bellwether trials.
Background
Before joining Beasley Allen, Joseph obtained a broad range of legal experience. Joseph previously worked in Beasley Allen’s Mass Torts Section, handling cases related to transvaginal mesh. He then worked at the Montgomery office of Holtsford, Gilliland, Higgins, Hitson & Howard P.C. before returning to Beasley Allen in 2016. While in law school, Joseph worked as a law clerk at Beasley Allen, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office and the Holtsford, Gilliland firm. He also worked with the Elmore County District Attorney’s Office and Judge Truman M. Hobbs, Jr., Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Alabama.
Professional Associations
Joseph is a member of the Alabama State Bar, the Alabama State Bar Young Lawyers Section, Montgomery County Bar Association, and the Montgomery County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.
Awards and Recognitions
In 2022, Business Insider named Joseph a “Rising Star of the Courtroom: 15 Great Litigators of the Future.” He was recognized in 2021 and 2022 as a Super Lawyers Rising Star for the Mid-South Region, and Law360 named him a Rising Star in 2020. In 2019, Joseph made the National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40 list. Joseph was selected as the 2018 Beasley Allen Lawyer of the Year for the Mass Torts Section.
Publicity
Joseph is a regular speaker at national and regional mass torts litigation seminars. He has been quoted by The Washington Post, Law360, and Law.com.
Education
Joseph earned his B.S. degree in political science with a pre-law emphasis, graduating magna cum laude in 2009 from Faulkner University. He earned his J.D. from Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law in 2012, graduating summa cum laude.
During his time at Jones, Joseph served on the Faulkner Law Review, was on the Dean’s List every semester, and was presented with the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. He competed in the Interscholastic Moot Court competitions, including the National Appellate Advocacy Competition and the National Health Law Moot Court Competition.
During his time at Jones, Joseph served on the Faulkner Law Review, was on the Dean’s List every semester, and was presented with the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. He competed in the Interscholastic Moot Court competitions, including the National Appellate Advocacy Competition and the National Health Law Moot Court Competition.
Community Involvement
Joseph and his wife, Brittany, live in Pike Road, Alabama, with their two sons. They are active members of University Church of Christ and are involved in local and international mission work. Joseph serves on the Jimmy Hitchcock Memorial Award Committee and is a Board Member for Agape of Central Alabama.
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