JOSEPH S. KLAPACH

Joseph Klapach is a partner at Klapach & Klapach, where he practices in the areas of appellate, business litigation and estate planning. Mr. Klapach graduated at the top of his class from Cornell Law School and was awarded his law degree, summa cum laude, by special vote of the faculty. While at Cornell, he served as Managing Editor of the Cornell Law Review and won numerous prizes for his writing and his academic achievement. After graduation, Mr. Klapach clerked for the Honorable Andrew Kleinfeld on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then practiced for eight years at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, one of the premier law firms in the nation.

Mr. Klapach has extensive experience handling all facets of civil and criminal appeals and litigation, including preparing for and trying cases, motion practice, and briefing and arguing appeals. He has litigated more than 50 appeals and writ proceedings before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the California appellate courts. He has also served as trial counsel for numerous jury trials, bench trials, and arbitrations.

For the past few years, Mr. Klapach has also practiced extensively in the areas of estate and tax planning. He has drafted and finalized more than 50 estate plans.

Mr. Klapach holds a CPA license in the state of Missouri and received the Gold Medal for attaining the highest score on the CPA exam.

Education

Cornell Law School, J.D., summa cum laude, 1999

Law School Honors

West's Outstanding Achievement Award
(Top 4 Students in Class)

Managing Editor, Cornell Law Review

Order of the Coif

Herbert R. Reif Prize
(Best Written Student Note)

Fredric H. Weisberg Prize
(Top Student in Constitutional Law)

Awarded Degree, summa cum laude,
By Special Faculty Vote

Evangel College, B.A., B.B.A.,
summa cum laude, 1996

Holds Missouri CPA license
(received Gold Medal award for highest CPA exam score)

Clerkship

Clerk to Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld, United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit, 2000-2001

Download a PDF version of this page