Joseph W. Spagnoli is considered to be an effective and seasoned criminal trial attorney whose experience and trial skills are unsurpassed. Mr. Spagnoli has represented private clients for 50 years, has tried over 100 jury trials and countless juvenile and municipal court trials, and has negotiated well over 1,500 amicable plea agreements. He enjoys an outstanding reputation within the court system and with his many past and present clients.

Joe appears daily in person and virtually on Zoom in the county superior and local municipal courts and possesses a special familiarity and working knowledge of the criminal justice system in each unique locale and with its members including judges, prosecutors and court support personnel which enhances his ability to get the best result for his clients.

He received his law degree from Seton Hall Law School and served as Law Secretary to the Senior Criminal Judge both in Essex County Criminal Court and the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. He was admitted to the Bar in 1972: New Jersey and U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. He then served as an Assistant County Prosecutor in Middlesex County, and as a Special Deputy Attorney General, and later as a Municipal Prosecutor. Following that, in addition to representing private clients, he served as Superior Court Public Defender Per Diem Attorney and as Special Designated Superior Court Public Defender Counsel. Mr. Spagnoli became a Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer in 1982 and maintained that honored status through 2013 when he was duly honored as one of only 21 attorneys to be designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Municipal Court Trial Attorney.  He is also a member of the Union County Bar Association.

Mr. Spagnoli distinguishes his criminal practice by combining a uniquely experienced knowledge of trial law with day to day operation of the superior and municipal courts and a commitment to serving each client through personal communications, updates and availability during and until the case is completed to the client's satisfaction.

A Certified Criminal Trial Attorney from 1985 through 2011, Lori has practiced exclusively criminal law for 45 years.

After graduating from St Peter's College and teaching in the Jersey City Public School system, she received her law degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1976 after which she pursued post-graduate studies in the law at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

In 1977, Lori became the first woman Municipal Prosecutor for the city of Elizabeth where she prosecuted hundreds of motor vehicle and disorderly persons offenses, handled administrative hearings and taught police officers courtroom testimony skills. During this time, she also taught in the Criminal Justice Department at Union College.

From Elizabeth, Ms. Spagnoli became an Assistant Prosecutor in 1979 in the Essex County Prosecutor's Office where she prosecuted all varieties of crimes including sexual assaults, robberies, and homicides.

In 1982, Lori joined the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office where she was elevated to Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor, the highest ranking female in law enforcement in the county at that time. There she supervised major investigations which included narcotics wiretaps among others both out in the field and in the courtroom and specialized in high profile sensitive and widely publicized prosecutions.

Thereafter, Ms. Spagnoli joined Joe in Elizabeth and later in Cranford practicing criminal defense with his firm. She also worked as an Assistant and Per Diem Assistant Deputy Public Defender in Elizabeth until 2003 where she often used her fluency in Spanish while representing her many Spanish speaking clients.

Since that time, Ms. Spagnoli continues the practice of criminal defense applying her unique and diverse background in criminal law to benefit the firm's clients. Her approach to the law and her clients is as to her own life: an abiding commitment to service and excellence.