About Joe
Joe Serpa built a legal education that marries trial skills with constitutional theory. He earned an LL.M. in Criminal Litigation and Constitutional Law from Georgetown University Law Center in 1996 after completing a B.A. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1990. The advanced study in Washington gave him extra time to study appellate briefing and constitutional challenges.
He began practice in New York at the Legal Aid Society in 1996, representing clients in criminal matters on the city level. Two years later he opened the Law Office of Joe Serpa, moving into private practice and taking on a wider range of criminal defense matters. In 2004 he joined Regan Associates, Chartered as a lawyer, then returned to solo practice and established Serpa Law Office in 2013. That mix of public defense, private practice and firm experience shapes how he approaches cases.
Serpa is licensed in Massachusetts and admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. That combination allows him to handle cases at the trial level in state court and to pursue appellate work in federal court. He has worked on matters that require courtroom advocacy and on filings that raise constitutional questions.
He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Boston Bar Association. Those affiliations keep him in touch with developments in criminal law and procedural practice. He also uses association programs to stay current on changes in evidence law and appellate procedure.
At Serpa Law Office he represents people charged with a range of offenses. His practice includes arraignment and pretrial work, jury trials, post-conviction proceedings and appeals in the First Circuit. He handles constitutional claims that arise in criminal cases and prepares briefs for appellate review. He currently practices criminal defense at Serpa Law Office, handling trial and appellate matters.
