Joseph Cerra has been with Forman Holt Eliades Ravin & Youngman since its inception and is widely known as a top litigator. He focuses on complex commercial litigation, cases under the Uniform Commercial Code, Federal WARN Act litigation, appellate practice and various adversary proceedings under the Bankruptcy Code. Mr. Cerra regularly appears in courts throughout the United States on behalf of our clients.

Mr. Cerra began his career at one of New Jersey’s largest and most respected law firms, where he spent eight years as a commercial litigator. While an associate at that firm, Mr. Cerra handled the day-to-day supervision of a major commercial litigation which ultimately resulted in the largest verdict ever in favor of a client of that firm.

In addition to his trial work, Mr. Cerra possesses extensive appellate court experience. He is frequently retained to review trial proceedings for purposes of identifying appellate issues and to craft appeal briefs on a wide variety of issues. Our clients value Mr. Cerra’s ability to understand the way appellate judges will see the issues and his ability to advance arguments as seen from their perspectives.

Mr. Cerra is a skilled brief writer whose submissions to the courts have resulted in numerous reported decisions favorable to our clients’ positions. He believes that a thoughtfully written presentation to the court is the culmination of a carefully conceived litigation strategy. “A timely and well executed dispositive motion can be instrumental in getting the result that your client wants,” Mr. Cerra says. “You should be planning that motion from the first day you have the case.”

For many years, Mr. Cerra has been selected for inclusion in NJ Monthly’s New Jersey Super Lawyers lists. 201 Magazine has listed Mr. Cerra as one of Bergen’s Top Lawyers for 2012. Mr. Cerra also is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory with an AV Peer Review Rating.

Mr. Cerra is committed to legal education and has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Seton Hall University School of Law for many years. He also served as a Master in the John J. Gibbons American Inn of Court, which specializes in the study of federal practice and intellectual property law. Mr. Cerra frequently lectures to business students and law students, drawing on his experience in large commercial litigation and bankruptcy reorganizations.

Education
Fordham College (AB 1984)
Fordham University School of Law (JD 1988) (Editorial Board of the Fordham International Law Journal)

Judicial Experience
Law Clerk to the Honorable James H. Coleman, Jr., Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (1988-1989) (Justice Coleman subsequently was elevated to the New Jersey Supreme Court)

Admissions
State of New Jersey
State of New York
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States Court of the Armed Services
United States Supreme Court

Memberships
New Jersey State Bar Association