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Joseph
G. Ragno
Position: Member
Mr. Ragno, who has been associated with the firm since 1980, is a cum laude graduate of Seton Hall University ( B.A. 1976) and a 1979 graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law. Admitted to practice in New Jersey in 1980, he served as law clerk to the Honorable John J. Geronimo, J.S.C., Presiding Judge - Civil, Superior Court, Law Division, Hudson County for the 1979-80 judicial term.
Mr. Ragno has headed the firm's state and local property tax/valuation practice group since 1985, representing taxpayers and municipalities alike in litigated matters before the Tax Court of New Jersey and the various County Tax Boards. In this capacity, he and his group have successfully litigated and/or negotiated substantial property tax reductions for such clients of the firm as Tosco Corporation, Exxon Corporation, Tropicana, Dow Chemical, Mack-Cali Realty, Hartz Mountain Industries, K-Mart, Simon Property Group, Vornado Realty Trust, ING Clarion Partners, and Centex Homes to name but a few.
In the redevelopment field, Mr. Ragno has negotiated both long and short-term tax abatements for many prominent redevelopers throughout the state, has lectured on Long Term Tax Abatement programs for the Association of Municipal Assessors of New Jersey and the Redevelopment Law Institute and took a lead role in drafting the 2003 reform of the Long Term Tax Exemption Law.
In addition, Mr. Ragno's practice includes the representation of employers and employees alike in the field of employment law. In this capacity, he has drafted customized employee handbooks for clients of the firm, lectured on a variety of issues impacting the workplace, and led internal investigations of workplace harassment and discrimination claims on behalf of his clients.
He currently serves as Statewide Chairman of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Character; is the New Jersey State Bar Association Representative to the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on the Tax Court; is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association - Real Property Tax Practice and Procedure Committee; and a past Chairman of the Board of the Hudson County Unit of the American Cancer Society.
