Multi-talented trial attorney Joe Bahgat helps a variety of clients resolve disputes in complex litigation and IP infringement, IP licensing and similar transactions, appeals, and criminal defense. By combining his experience as a professional jazz musician and former broadcaster, with his knowledge of collegiate sports governance, Joe is also well-equipped to tackle myriad legal issues that arise in the sports and entertainment industries.

Having performed with the likes of Grammy-award winners Ray Charles, The Four Tops, and Tom Harrell, Joe has seen the entertainment industry through the eyes of a performer, and he uses that experience to put himself in the shoes of his clients. Similarly, while attending law school and working at The Ohio State University amidst the Maurice Clarett scandal, Joe gained a deep understanding of NCAA compliance, and the unique issues that high-profile athletes face when they find themselves in the criminal justice system.

Joe also draws on his experience working for an AmLaw 100 law firm — where he focused on litigation and appeals of construction law and intellectual property cases — and then served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable G. Gary Tyack at the Tenth District Court of Appeals of Ohio. As an appellate court clerk, Joe reviewed cases and drafted opinions in virtually every area of law. In doing so, he developed expertise in a many areas of substantive law, while at the same time sharpening his skills as an appellate attorney.

From a young age, Joe worked in his father’s law office, at first handling small clerical tasks, but later on researching and drafting pleadings and motions for criminal and family court. During law school Joe also worked in the chambers of Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, at the Supreme Court of Ohio, and served as a special assistant municipal prosecutor for the city of Delaware, Ohio.

Although he previously played baseball and football, Joe limits his current athletic endeavors to individual endurance sports: He has completed several nationally recognized marathons and half-marathons, and a number of multi-sport competitions, including the NYC and Philadelphia triathlons. But Joe remains a football and baseball fan, having grown up watching Don Mattingly and the New York Yankees, Ohio State Buckeyes' Football, and the New York Giants.

Joe draws on all of his personal and professional experience to advise clients in IP licensing and contract negotiation, drafting, and litigation; trademark and copyright protection; and Internet and privacy law. His clients include media and licensing companies, retail businesses (including a growing sporting goods chain), everyday small business owners, musicians, and also athletes, at the high school, college, and professional levels.

Education

Juris Doctor (with honors), The Ohio State University College of Law

National Moot Court Team; Associate Editor, Ohio State Journal
on Dispute Resolution
Concentrations: Intellectual Property; Internet & Media Law; Sports Law

Master of Arts (high academic honors), Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Concentrations: Etymology in journalism; civil rights movement’s
impact on the music industry
Assistant Director, Rutgers University Jazz Ensemble

Bachelor of Arts in Jazz Studies, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

Professional Associations

American Bar Association, Chair, GP|Solo Division's Intellectual Property Committee
New Jersey State Bar Association; Sports & Entertainment Law Committee
Middlesex County Bar Association
Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in New Jersey

Bar Admissions

Joe is licensed to practice in all state and federal courts in New Jersey & Ohio.