Joseph E. Vaughan

Joseph Vaughan has spent the past thirty-nine years defending employers and insurance carriers large and small against an array of ever-changing claims and exposures. He has acted as both litigator and advisor to his clients, counseling them on ways to mitigate operational risks and strategies that add value to their bottom line.

Joseph remains vigilant of constantly evolving statutes and case law and their potential impact on employment practices, as well as the exposures that these changes often create. He regularly provides his clients with education and training on a customized in-house basis and has dedicated his practice to preserving and promoting his clients’ best interests financially and as leaders in their respective industries.

Experience

• Defended an accounting firm against a $12,000,000 malpractice claim, successfully having an award entered in his client’s favor that included reimbursement of costs.
• Successfully represented a multi-state employer against serious allegations of violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Challenged the Department of Justice when it imposed a $3,500,000 “responsible party” tax on an unwitting director/officer for a real estate development company.
• Prosecuted and defended employers and employees with respect to restrictive covenants and confidentiality provisions.
• Overturned a patent infringement judgment for a patent holder client before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
• Defended a target defendant in a large multi-party construction case, recovering 100% of the client’s attorneys’ fees based on indemnification and additional insured theories.
• Defended a seller in a $60 million transaction against claims of unfair competition, obtaining his release from all non-compete provisions from the sale.
• Effectively utilized workers’ compensation strategy to defeat Title VII claims by an employee of a large national nursing home operator.
• Defended a death claim by utilizing medical history and records to create a suggestion of self-inflicted demise.

Practices

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New York
• United States Supreme Court
• United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• United States Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
• United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas
• United States District Court for the Central District of California
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida 
• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Education

• Villanova School of Law, J.D., 1984
• University of Scranton, B.S., 1981

Professional & Civic

• Professional Liability Underwriting Society
• Professional Lines Attorney Network
• Defense Research Institute
• Pennsylvania Self-Insurers’ Association
• Greater Philadelphia Executive Claims Counsel
• Aviation Insurance Association
• Pennsylvania Defense Institute
• Professional Liability Defense Federation
• Risk and Insurance Management Society
• Society for Human Resource Management
• Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry’s Workers’ Compensation Executive

Publications

• “The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Grants Several Petitions for Appeal in Important Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Matters”; Counterpoint, an Official Publication of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, February 2017
• “Application of Frye Standards to Qualify as an Expert Witness in Workers’ Compensation Cases. Never Before, Until Now!”; Counterpoint, an Official Publication of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, February 2017
• “Additional Guidance on Impairment Rating Evaluation”; The Legal Intelligencer, November 10, 2016
• “Independent Contractor Misclassification: Factors to Consider,” The Legal Intelligencer, August 26, 2016
• “Independent Contractor Misclassification: A Rising Tide”; The Legal Intelligencer, July 26, 2016
• “The Inherent Bias of a Treating Physician in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation” Counterpoint: An Official Publication of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, April 2016
• “Additional Guidance on Impairment Rating Evaluations” The Legal Intelligencer, November 10, 2015
• “Playing a Workers’ Compensation Game: Accept the Challenge of Predicting the Judicial Outcomes of the Leading Cases of Employment Workers’ Compensation Decisions in 2014” CounterPoint: An Official Publication of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, April 2015
• “Dougherty v. WCAB (QVC, Inc.): Further Application of the Judicial Analysis Underpinning Bufford” CounterPoint: An Official Publication of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, December 2014

Presentations

• “Professional Liability- Aviation Professional Liability” Panelist Instructor (Asheville, NC | May 21, 2019)
• “Pregnancy, Accommodating Moms & The Law” Seminar Instructor (Philadelphia, PA | May 16, 2019)
• “Distracted Driving, Concerns for Employers” Seminar Instructor (Philadelphia, PA | May 10, 2018)
• “What’s Next for the Embattled Overtime Rules” & “Avoiding Independent Contractors Misclassification” Seminar Instructor (Philadelphia, PA | May 10, 2017)