As a former in-house counsel, Joe Kroeger brings a corporate perspective to the practice of law to best serve the needs of his clients in an effective and cost-efficient manner.
Joe's practice is concentrated in labor and employment. He represents employers in a variety of areas, including employment discrimination and harassment, wrongful discharge, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, non-competition/non-solicitation matters, social media, alternative dispute resolution and arbitration agreements, and other related areas. Joe is also a member of the firm’s Privacy and Data Security group, and has experience in issues related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, HIPAA, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, employee background checks and drug testing, employer protection of intellectual property, e-discovery and other employment-related privacy issues. He has litigation experience in a variety of federal and state judicial and administrative forums. Joe has first-chaired cases to favorable verdicts in front of both federal and state juries. He further counsels and advises employers with respect to all of the above areas.
Joe is a member of the firm's Ethics and Community Involvement Committees.
Representative Litigation
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Employment Litigation and Other Matters
- Represented financial institution in obtaining unanimous verdict in state court, resulting in award of entire amount of compensatory damages requested as well as punitive damages against the plaintiff
- Awarded summary judgment on behalf of a national distribution company on all claims, including disability discrimination and retaliation
- Obtained extremely favorable settlement in non-competition dispute representing a defense company against a former employee and his new employer resulting in all defendants’ agreements not to compete at all in the relevant industry for multiple years and payment of significant damages to plaintiff
- Extracted entrepreneurs from a non-competition dispute with their former employer prior to the employer filing litigation, allowing clients to form own business in same industry (and flourish)
- Represented principals of company in non-compete and government contract dispute with former employer, resulting in a settlement favorable to clients that involved payment of no damages of any kind to former company
- Assisted large national employer in successfully compelling arbitration of employee’s claims in a novel and procedurally complex case
Pro Bono Litigation
- Received unanimous federal jury verdict in favor of client in prison civil rights case, resulting in award of attorneys’ fees
- Represented client before the Ninth Circuit who was found incorrectly by an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals not to be a United States citizen; less than five months after our engagement, the Department of Justice agreed that he was a citizen, dismissed the case, issued our client citizenship papers and immediately released him from the custody of INS, where he had been wrongfully held for nearly three years
- Successfully convinced Arizona Court of Appeals to uphold trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of our client finding that director’s transfer of primary asset of homeowner’s association was invalid and void
Education
- Stanford Law School (J.D., 2000)
- Lead Article Editor, Stanford Law & Policy Review
- University of Dayton (B.A., Political Science, summa cum laude, 1997)
- Recipient of full tuition Presidential Scholarship
Court Admissions
- Supreme Court of Arizona
- Supreme Court of California
- Supreme Court of Illinois
- United States District Court, District of Arizona
- United States District Court, Southern District of California
- United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
- United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Professional Memberships & Activities
- State Bar of Arizona, Employment Law Section, CLE Committee
- State Bar of California
- State Bar of Illinois
- American Bar Association
- Society for Human Resource Management
- Pima County Bar Association
- Udall Inn of Court
Representative Presentations & Publications
- Court Holds That NLRB Posting Requirement is Lawful, but Remedies for Violation of Requirement are Invalid, Author, Legal Alert, Snell & Wilmer (March 2, 2012)
- How to Take a Case Before the NLRB, Eighth Edition, Chapter Editor (2011)
- Employment Toolkit 2011: Understanding Employment Law Issues Affecting the Workplace Today, Co-Presenter (December 8, 2011)
- Who Are They Kidding? "Protected" Activity According to the NLRB, Co-Author, DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar (November 23, 2011)
- Are Your Employees All "Atwitter"? Understanding Employment Law Issues Applicable to Social Media in Your Workplace, Co-Author, Focus, ACC America, 2Q2011 (2011)
- Time To Tune Up Those Policies: A Summary of Recent Changes in Law That Should Be Addressed By Employers, Author, The Workplace Word, Snell & Wilmer (June 2011)
- The Legal Ramifications of Social Media for Employers, Speaker, ACI National Economic and Human Capital Conference (May 2, 2011)
- FSLA Collective Actions and Mandatory Arbitration, Co-Author, Legal Alert, Snell & Wilmer (March 10, 2011)
- Medical Marijuana in the Workplace, Co-Presenter, (January 6, 2011)
- Federal Law Now Requires Employers to Provide Break Time for Nursing Mothers, Author, The Workplace Word, Snell & Wilmer (August 2010)
- Employment Toolkit 2010: The Tools You Need for Tomorrow’s Workplace, Co-Presenter (June 23, 2010)
- Is Your Office "Atwitter"? Understanding Employment Law Issues Applicable to Social Media in Your Workplace, Co-Presenter (Oct. 27, 2009)
- Arizona Employment Law Handbook: Independent Contractors, Co-Author
- The Future of Employment Arbitration, Co-Author, Legal Alert, Snell & Wilmer (June 9, 2009)
- Furloughs Are a Potential Alternative to Layoffs, Author, The Workplace Word, Snell & Wilmer (March 2009)
- Employment Toolkit 2009: The Tools You Need for Tomorrow's Workplace, Co-Presenter (Jan. 21, 2009)
- Impact of 2008 Election on Employment Law, Presenter, Society for Human Resource Management (Jan. 13, 2009)
- New Genetic Discrimination Law Will Affect Tucson Employers, Author, Inside Tucson Business magazine (Jan. 2, 2009)
- Employment Issues in a Declining Economy, Presenter (Sept. 25, 2008)
Professional Recognition & Awards
- Up and Comer, Inside Tucson Business (2012)
- Pro Bono Award, Snell & Wilmer (2011)
- 40 Under 40, Arizona Daily Star (2010)
Community Involvement
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson, Chair of Board of Directors
Other Professional Experience
- American Business Consultants Corp., In-House Counsel/Director of Human Resources
- Fisher & Phillips LLP, Associate
- Sidley Austin LLP, Associate
- United States District Court (N.D.Ill.), Law Clerk for Hon. Suzanne Conlon
