Biography
Joe Froetschel teaches Advanced Pennsylvania Torts, and has been a frequent guest lecturer in Trial Advocacy and Pennsylvania Practice. He received both his undergraduate degree—majoring in history, politics, and philosophy—and his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Joe is a principal at the firm of Gismondi & Associates, P.C. His practice involves all aspects of plaintiff personal injury, including medical malpractice, construction litigation, nursing home negligence, insurance litigation, product liability, premises liability, liquor liability, and motor vehicle collisions. He has tried a number of jury trials and has successfully argued before every appellate court in the Commonwealth. He is a frequent author of amicus briefs on medical malpractice issues such as peer review, evidentiary issues, and mandatory arbitration agreements.
In recognition of his professional accomplishments, Joe was inducted as a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County. He is A/V rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating for both legal ability and personal qualities such as reliability, diligence, and ethics, and received a perfect 5.0 rating by his peers. He has been named of one of the National Trial Lawyers Association’s American Society of Legal Advocate’s “Top 40 Under 40,” as well as a “Top 10 Under 40” by the National Association of Personal Injury Attorneys. Joe has also been repeatedly recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in the field of plaintiff’s medical malpractice and personal injury litigation.
In addition to his professional achievements, throughout his career Joe has been an active member and contributor to the Allegheny County Bar Association, serving on the Local Rules Committee, Bench Bar Committee, and is the Secretary of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Civil Litigation Section. He was a member 2008-2009 Bar Leadership Initiative that implemented the “Wills for Heroes” pro bono project providing free estate documents to first responders throughout Allegheny County. After its inaugural year, Joe served as the Western District Coordinator of the Wills for Heroes program for an additional five years. In addition to his community service work, he has served as a pro bono attorney for NLSA, as a volunteer for the transgender name change project, and as a trial attorney for the Federal Pro Bono Prison Rights Program. He is also a Fellow of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation.
Outside of the office, Joe was named as one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s “40 Under 40.” He serves as a Committee Member for the Pittsburgh Symphony Soiree and the Children’s Trust for the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He is an avid cyclist, fly-fisher, skier, hiker, scuba diver, and participates in several recreational soccer and hockey leagues. On winter weekends, he is a ski instructor at Hidden Valley. A life-long Pittsburgher, Joe lives in the North Side, where he is painstakingly—and sometimes painfully—restoring a historic home.