Joseph F. McSorley

A courtroom veteran in prosecution and defense, Joseph McSorley uses trial strategies that are well crafted and executed.  This approach served him during many years as a federal prosecutor, including a role as Chief Assistant United States Attorney, where he exercised supervisory responsibility for approximately 70 prosecutors in the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach offices of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.  In private practice, he represents clients in a wide variety of civil and criminal cases, including securities fraud, tax fraud, antitrust and racketeering.  He is of counsel in the Litigation Department and is based in the West Palm Beach office. 

Experience

Since joining Shutts & Bowen in 1987, Mr. McSorley has represented a multitude of clients in cases in state and federal courts. His practice includes securities fraud, gem and jewelry fraud, RICO, antitrust, bribery, tax fraud, health care fraud and abuse, and forfeiture under federal law. He works with clients throughout South Florida and has been recognized by his peers as an "AV" or top-rated attorney in the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory.

Background

Mr. McSorley began his extensive legal career in 1970 as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia. There he served in the Misdemeanor Trial Section, Appellate Division, Grand Jury Section, Felony Trial Unit and Major Crimes Unit. He investigated and prosecuted a wide range of offenses including RICO, federal tax offenses, first degree murder and lesser degrees of homicide, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape and narcotics offenses.

He later served as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (Miami). While in the Miami office, Mr. McSorley was Chief of the Criminal Division overseeing 70 prosecutors charged with investigating and prosecuting a wide variety of criminal offenses. In 1985, he was promoted to Chief Assistant United States Attorney with supervisory and managerial responsibility for prosecutors located in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

During his career, Mr. McSorley taught various courses on litigation issues. He also prepared numerous monographs for federal prosecutors in the Department of Justice and United States Attorneys’ Offices throughout the United States on pretrial, in-trial and investigatory tactics and techniques.

Published Work

Mr. McSorley wrote A Portable Guide to Federal Conspiracy Law: Developing Strategies for Criminal and Civil Cases. The book was published by the ABA Criminal Justice Section in 1996, with a second edition released in 2003. He also authored three published articles: “Admissibility of Coconspirator Declarations Under Florida and Federal Law,” Florida Bar Journal (November 1992); “Effects of Asserting the Fifth Amendment in Civil Cases”, Florida Bar Journal (November 1993); and “Criminal Lawyers or Lawyer Criminals: Ethics of the Criminal Defense Bar Under Attack,” Florida Bar Journal (February 1998).

Education

• Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1968
• Georgetown University, B.A.,1965

Bar Admissions

• The Florida Bar
• District of Columbia Bar

Court Admissions

• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
• U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
• United States Supreme Court