Awards & Recognition

Joseph W. Belluck

Joseph W. Belluck founded Belluck Law, PLLC, in 2022 after more than 25 years of representing individuals in asbestos cases and personal injury lawsuits. Throughout his career, Joe has secured more than $1 billion in compensation for his clients. His work has earned him the respect of his colleagues and judges, and a reputation for exceptional client representation, public service, ethic and professionalism.

Joe has a national reputation for representing individuals with mesothelioma, asbestos-related diseases, car and truck accidents and catastrophic. He has spent his entire legal career as a dedicated and compassionate attorney who fights for injured workers and consumers. He receives frequent invitations to speak at conferences across the country.

Before shifting his focus to asbestos litigation in 1999, Joe represented the State of New York in its tobacco litigation that forced the tobacco industry to pay almost $1 billion, stop funding fake scientific research and limit tobacco advertising. He also previously worked as a staff attorney for Public Citizen, a consumer rights group in Washington, D.C.

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Joe volunteered with a legal organization called Trial Lawyers Care for six months. He provided free legal representation to families of people killed at the World Trade Center.

Joe dedicates a significant amount of time to public service.  He has served on the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct since 2008. The Commission investigates allegations of misconduct by state and local judges, and takes disciplinary action when warranted. He was elected Chair of the Commission in 2017.

In 2010, Joe was appointed as a trustee of The State University of New York (SUNY). The Board of Trustees oversees New York’s public university system, which includes 64 campuses. His alma mater of SUNY Buffalo Law School has named a professorship after Joe and his wife – the Joseph W. Belluck and Laura L. Aswad Professor of Civil Justice. Joe also chairs the SUNY Charter School Committee.

Joe was appointed to the advisory committee of the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Center for Law and Policy Solutions in 2017. He is a member of the Woodstock Zoning Board of Appeals.  In 2022, he was appointed as a member of the Cannabis Advisory Board for the New York State Office of Cannabis Management. He has also served on New York’s Medicaid Redesign Team.

Joe’s extensive philanthropic endeavors have benefitted numerous organizations. For example, he is Chair of the Board of Precious Dreams, an organization that provides comfort items to foster and homeless youth nationwide. He also serves on the Board of Special Olympics New York.

He previously served on the Board of Children’s Rights, a national advocacy group focused on reforming failing child welfare systems and protecting foster children, and the Board of the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, an artist colony in the Hudson Valley.

Joe’s interests outside of work and public service include gardening, music and spending time with his dogs.