Joseph Creitz

For over thirty years, Joe Creitz has championed the underdog in conflicts involving employee benefits, insurance bad faith, and other complex employment issues. His integrity and skill as a litigator have guided countless clients to positive, practical, and cost-efficient results. His work as a litigator has yielded numerous awards and recognitions, including the following:

·2024 Wall Street Journal/Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year (ERISA Litigation)

·2020 Wall Street Journal/Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year (ERISA Litigation)

·2019 Top 100 Northern California Super Lawyers

·2018-2024 Wall Street Journal Best Lawyers in Northern California

·2013-2024 Super Lawyers

·2012 California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (“CLAY”) (Employee Benefits)

Joe has also taught Legal Research & Writing and Moot Court at his alma mater, UC Law SF, since 1994, and in 2023 he assumed the Directorship of the program. Like his litigation practice, his pedagogy has always focused on helping students develop sound judgment and a strong ethical anchor. Joe’s early experiences working as a judicial extern in the chambers of federal District Judge Thelton Henderson ingrained in him the unwavering commitment to justice that has guided his career. 

Joe began acting as a mediator over a decade ago, and since 2019, Joe has regularly served as a court-appointed mediator through the United States District Court for the Northern District of California’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program, most frequently mediation insurance coverage and ERISA disputes. Joe’s mediation clients regularly comment on his kind and receptive interpersonal approach, and his ability to cut through complex legal disputes to pinpoint the key issues that are critical to resolving those disputes.

Joe is also a contributing editor to the the ABA/BNA publication Employee Benefits Law, Joe is a regular contributor to Chapter 12, Civil Procedure; and has also contributed to Chapter 13, Benefit Claims; and Chapter 20, Ethics.