About Joseph
Joseph Messa earned his law degree from Temple University in 1988 after completing a Bachelor of Science at Tulane University in 1984. He moved from academic study into practice at a time when courtroom litigation remained a central route for major civil disputes. The two degrees anchor a career that spans the Delaware Valley and the courts of two neighboring states.
Messa is admitted to practice in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He has been active in the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association since 2006, taking on successive leadership roles in the organization. He served as secretary from 2009 to 2011, then as vice president for 2013 to 2014, and he led the association as president during 2015–2016. Those positions placed him in regular contact with fellow trial lawyers, judges and court administrators, and involved him in the association’s educational and organizational efforts.
Over the years he has concentrated his work on trial litigation, developing courtroom experience that spans jury trials and pretrial advocacy. His involvement in the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association reflects an interest in the practical and institutional aspects of trial practice: mentoring younger lawyers, participating in continuing legal education, and contributing to discussions about rules and procedures that affect civil litigation. He has balanced litigation in state courts on both sides of the Delaware River and the ancillary work that comes with preparing cases for trial.
Messa works out of offices in Philadelphia and Cherry Hill. He divides his time between those locations and the courtrooms where his cases are heard. Colleagues and peers have known him for steady participation in bar and trial lawyer activities over many years. He remains active in the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and continues to be involved in the professional community around trial practice.
He currently practices out of offices in Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, concentrating on civil trial matters across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
