Joseph G. Hughes, Esq.

Mr. Hughes is certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a workers’ compensation attorney. He started his own law practice in 2021, and his office is in Ocean, NJ. He practices Worker’s Compensation, Personal Injury and drafts Wills. He was formerly certified as a civil trial attorney in the year 2013 until 2024.

Mr. Hughes was also appointed as the Presiding Municipal Court Judge of West Long Branch from 2021 until 2024. Before that, he was the Prosecutor in West Long Branch and was appointed in 2017 until he was appointed Judge. As an attorney, he has tried cases in the following courts: Superior Court, the Division of Workers’ Compensation, Social Security, Municipal Court and he has presented oral arguments in the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court.

From an educational perspective, Mr. Hughes attended St. Francis College on a full academic scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science magna cum laude in 1983. While there, he was given the honor of being selected as a Duns Scotus scholar. Mr. Hughes received a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School in 1986 and was chosen to be a law clerk in New York Supreme Court in Queens County, New York. Mr. Hughes was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1989 and is also admitted to the United States District Court. From his very first job in the field of law, Mr. Hughes was placed into a court room to fight for his clients.

Mr. Hughes graduated from the Joseph Halpern / David Furman Inns of Court in 1999 and in the past served as a mentor in this organization which teaches young lawyers how to try cases, be an effective advocate and how to practice in an ethical manner. Mr. Hughes is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Monmouth County Bar and the Middlesex County Bar.

Mr. Hughes is also a speaker in the field of litigation. In 2013, Mr. Hughes was selected to be an instructor for the National Business Institute and taught a course to other attorneys on New Jersey statutes which affect liability and legal ethics in the field of personal injury. In 2016, Mr. Hughes was asked by the Sterling Educational System to teach a course in the field of workers’ compensation. He covered topics such as the duty to zealously represent clients as well as how to properly prepare a case for an effective pre-trial conference. In 2024, he spoke for the NJSBA on workers compensation insurance coverage issues.

In the past, Mr. Hughes has served as both a member of, and the Chairman of, the Environmental Commission in his hometown of West Long Branch. He is a past Board member of The Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation which is a non-profit organization which engages in a variety of public service activities including: youth education, raising money for various charities as well as promoting jazz, blues and other forms of music enjoyed in New Jersey.

Mr. Hughes is also a singer-songwriter and has performed with his band Goldenseal for the following charity groups: the New Jersey Food banks, our American Veterans, Juvenile Diabetes, the Special Olympics, Domestic Violence Support Group Women Aware, The Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Scholarship Program and several organizations devoted to raising funds and awareness for cancer including breast cancer, colon cancer and pediatric cancer. The band Goldenseal has been performing all over New Jersey for over 20 years.

Selected Accomplishments:

• 1997- 2000: Successfully wrote and argued 4 cases before the New Jersey Appellate Division.
• 2001: $200,000 jury verdict. (auto accident) (Hudson County)
• 2004: $250,000 jury verdict. (dog bite) (Middlesex County)
• 2004: Trial and settlement of $1.5 million will contest.
• 2004: Trial and settlement of $825,000 partnership dispute.
• 2008: Settlement of auto accident case for $2 million.
• 2010: Appointed by the Middlesex Presiding Judge to the Civil lawyers Committee
• 2011: Settlement of complex electrocution case for $750,000.
• 2012: Settlement of auto v. tractor-trailer case for $3 million.
• 2013: Settlement of complex motorcycle versus truck case for $200,000.
• 2013: Certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a civil trial attorney.
• 2014: Settlement of wrongful death lawsuit for $1.6 million.
• 2015: Tried and settled two Workers Compensation Total Disability cases.
• 2016: Settlement of two complex trip and fall cases for $140,000 and $110,000.
• 2017: Certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a workers’ compensation attorney.
• 2018: Chosen By NBI to be a speaker on Ethics and Challenges in Todays’ Worker’s Compensation Practice. Settlement of complex multi-defendant construction accident for $170,000.00 dollars.
• 2019: Resolved complex Train injury accident case for $360,000 dollars. Settled Dog bite injury case for $78,000 dollars.
• 2020: Settled Bicycle accident case for $150,000 dollars.
• 2021; Resolved complex workers compensation matter for $213,000.00 dollars.