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JOSEPH V. CAVANAGH, JR.
jvc@blishcavlaw.com
Joseph V. Cavanagh, Jr. is the managing partner of Blish & Cavanagh
, the head of its civil litigation/trial practice area, and the firm’s
senior trial lawyer. A former partner at Edwards & Angell in
Providence, R.I., he was a co-founder of Blish & Cavanagh in 1986.
His entire legal career has concentrated on the practice of civil
litigation. An accomplished trial lawyer, he has litigated cases in many
different areas, including antitrust, libel, products liability, sexual
harassment and employment, RICO, personal injury, medical malpractice,
and patent law. During his career, he has briefed and argued many
appeals before the Rhode Island Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit.
Clients in his media law practice include both newspapers and
broadcast media. In addition to advising media clients on avoidance of
litigation, his media law work has involved litigation of libel and
slander actions, obtaining media access to various judicial proceedings
and court documents, and prior restraint litigation. He has also
represented clients, including media clients, who are seeking public
access to local, state, and federal government documents and information
under Freedom of Information laws or public access to the deliberations
of various governmental bodies under state open meetings laws.
Mr. Cavanagh has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in
employment litigation, including employment discrimination and
employment contract litigation. He has also represented both plaintiffs
and defendants in personal injury and product liability matters. He has
litigated a variety of other matters on behalf of individuals, small
corporations and partnerships, regional banks, and national
corporations, including complex partnership disputes between major real
estate developers, RICO claims, financing guaranties, contract disputes,
and other commercial litigation. He has also been involved in anti-trust
litigation, including litigation relating to the media and to
distributors of or dealers in commercial products. His clients have also
included local and state government entities.
He has been recognized as an outstanding general litigator by Chambers USA
for 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009, and 2010. He
has been named a Rhode
Island and New England Super Lawyer in each year from 2007 - 2010, and
has been a top vote getter among Rhode Island lawyers in each of these years; he received the highest number of votes among Rhode Island attorneys in
2007, 2009 and 2010 and the second highest number of votes in 2008. For many years he has also been recognized through a listing in The Best
Lawyers in America, the oldest lawyer rating publication in the United States and based on peer reviews.
He has been a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since
1990 and has served as Chairman of the Rhode Island chapter. He
served on the Rhode Island Board of Bar Examiners for nine years.
He is a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association and has served on its
Superior Court Bench/Bar Committee for many years. He is also a member
of the American Bar Association (Litigation Section), the Rhode Island
Trial Lawyers Association, and the Rhode Island Bar Foundation. A
frequent lecturer and speaker, he has participated in numerous seminars
and public panels on civil trial practice and First Amendment law.
Mr. Cavanagh is a founding director of ACCESS/R.I., a non-profit
organization which seeks to improve public access to governmental
information. He is also a founding director of the New England
First Amendment Coalition (NEFAC). He serves as a director and vice president of the St. Thomas More Law Society.
He also served as an officer and director of the Rhode Island Special
Olympics.
A former college hockey player, he was inducted into the United
States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1994.
Mr. Cavanagh is a graduate of Harvard College and received his J.D.
degree from Boston College Law School.
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