R. Joseph Decker

Joe Decker is an experienced trial lawyer rated AV Preeminent by his peers on Martindale Hubbell with a long history of successfully representing clients in a variety of litigation including those involving insurance coverage and bad faith, maritime, transportation, product liability, real estate, personal injury, corporate governance, intellectual property, professional liability [malpractice], and securities [stock] arbitrations to name a few. He has tried many cases to verdict in both state and federal courts in the states of California and Texas.

He is a native of Omaha, Nebraska but has resided in the Los Angeles Area for most of his life. In 1967 he joined the United States Air Force and spent four years in Asia and the Middle East. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University at Fullerton and attended Southwestern University School of Law where he graduated in the top 10% of his class in 1978.

Mr. Decker is one of the three founding partners of a 60 lawyer firm in Long Beach, California where he was a name partner for 18 years. In 2007, he took a position as a partner in a large New York law firm where he practiced until leaving in July of 2012 and becoming of counsel to Taubman, Simpson, Young & Sulentor.

His practice has consisted of a wide variety of civil litigation and transactional work. His trial practice has included the representation of real estate investment trusts, large commercial and industrial tenants, restaurant chains and companies in the chemical, aerospace, insurance, airline, ocean shipping, trucking, security businesses. He has represented these companies and other clients in virtually all areas of business litigation. On the transactional side, Mr. Decker has and is involved in both business and real estate transactional work including mergers, acquisitions, stock transactions, public offerings, and the purchase, sale and lease of commercial and industrial real property.

Mr. Decker is a member of the State Bar of California, and admitted to practice before United States Supreme Court, the United States District Courts for the Central, Southern, Northern and Eastern districts of California and the Northern District of Texas. Mr. Decker has sat as Judge Pro-tem as well as serving as a settlement officer in the Los Angeles Superior Court Special Civil Settlement Program.

Mr. Decker was presented the AV Preeminent highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards by Martindale Hubbell in 2020.