Legal Services & Lawyers

Joel is a Shareholder at Forizs & Dogali, having joined the Firm over six years ago. Joel handles a wide range of legal matters for both plaintiffs and defendants, and enjoys the variety that comes with having a general civil litigation practice; however, he focuses his law practice in three main areas of the law: securities and investment litigation, trademark litigation and commercial litigation.

In the area of securities and investment litigation, Joel has represented many investors, agents, brokers and broker-dealers in both customer and industry disputes, in matters involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentation and negligent supervision, among several other areas. In this regard, Joel has previously served as litigation and corporate counsel for a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) broker-dealer, where his duties included representing the corporation and its various subsidiaries in arbitration and litigation proceedings. He gained valuable insight into the securities industry while serving as litigation and corporate counsel.

In the area of intellectual property law, Joel has counseled many clients concerning trademark selection, registration and protection. He also has experience litigating inter partes trademark proceedings before the United States Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and has prosecuted and defended trademark infringement claims in state and federal court. Joel has also assisted clients with domain name disputes in Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Proceedings (UDRP) and in courts.

In the area of commercial litigation, Joel has litigated a myriad of cases in state and federal court. Some of these cases include Class Actions, Civil Rights Claims, Breach of Contract Claims, Real Estate Claims, Lender Claims, and Personal Injury Claims, to name just a few.

The Law Offices of Matthew J. Jowanna, P.A. is a civil litigation and trial law firm. The Firm has received Martindale-Hubbell's highest rating ("AV") for legal ability and ethical standards. The Firm is also listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, for which fewer than five percent (5%) of all law firms in the country qualify and are included.

Located in New Tampa / Wesley Chapel (on the Hillsborough / Pasco County border), the Firm is in the heart of the Tampa Bay area. Rather than being anchored to a specific downtown area, as most other law firms are, the Firm is more centrally located to easily, equally, and efficiently manage the entire Tampa Bay region. Being in the Tampa Bay area (directly in the middle of the state) also allows the Firm to accommodate clients throughout the entire state of Florida.