Joseph P. Rockers

Joe Rockers is a partner in the firm’s Litigation department and a founder and co-chair of Goodwin’s Private Investment Litigation practice. His practice focuses most principally on representing Goodwin’s private investment clients and their portfolio companies in a wide range of disputes, including corporate governance matters, complex commercial litigation and restrictive covenant disputes, partnership and shareholder rights disputes, acquisition disputes, and other business torts. Joe is a first chair trial attorney who has represented clients in numerous arbitrations and trials at various locations across the country.

Joe has experience representing both buyers and sellers, as well as clients with board control and those with minority positions. He has successfully litigated numerous post-closing disputes, working capital disputes, earnout disputes, partnership disputes, and other matters involving allegations of breaches of fiduciary duties and fraud. Joe also has extensive experience representing clients in complex insurance-coverage and indemnity matters and litigations, including with respect to R&W and D&O insurance coverage, advancement disputes, and post-closing indemnification claims. Finally, Joe maintains an active commercial litigation practice, representing clients across a wide-spectrum of industries, including real estate and construction.

Some of Joe's recent matters include defending and/or representing:

• Minority shareholders in breach-of-contract and breach-of-fiduciary-duty dispute that culminated in multi-week-long trial in state business court;
• Majority shareholders in business valuation dispute that resulted in successful ruling for majority partners after two-day arbitration;
• Public transportation company in real estate dispute that culminated in week-long trial in state land court;
• Not-for-profit in breach-of-contract, breach-of-fiduciary duty, and 93A dispute that resulted in successful ruling for not-for-profit after week-long jury trial in state court;
• Asset manager in breach-of-contract and business tort dispute that resulted in successful ruling for asset manager after three-day arbitration;
• Commercial airline in breach-of-contract dispute that resulted in successful ruling for airline after week-long trial in federal court;
• Health fitness company with facilities nationwide in partnership dispute involving claims of breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference, conspiracy, and aiding and abetting that culminated in month-long trial in state business court;
• Public company in theft-of-trade-secrets and breach-of-contract dispute related to the right to do business in 21 states that culminated in week-long arbitration;
• Insurance aggregator in breach-of-contract dispute that resulted in successful ruling for aggregator after week-long arbitration;
• Multiple clients in restrictive covenant disputes that resulted in successful rulings or resolutions for clients after preliminary injunction hearings, including clients in the insurance, technology, and healthcare industries;
• Nuclear power company before state trial and appellate courts in action challenging application of state environmental regulations to nuclear power plant;
• School district in breach-of-contract, fraud and RICO dispute concerning school-related construction that resulted in multi-million-dollar settlement for client; and
• Numerous clients in connection with litigation, arbitration, and other coverage disputes concerning R&W insurance policies, D&O insurance policies, and other insurance policies.

Joe is a member of the American Bar Association.

After law school, Joe served as a law clerk to the Honorable J.L. Edmondson, then-Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

While attending law school, Joe served as the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Law & Medicine.

Joe has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Commercial Litigation 2025.

Joe was recognized in Boston Magazine’s Top Lawyers 2021. 

In 2018 and 2019, Joe was named on Benchmark Litigation’s “Under 40 Hot List."

In 2014 and 2015, Joe was recognized as a New England “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine.

Joe co-authored the chapter on Joint Ventures in Thomson Reuters’ Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Fourth Edition, published in February 2017, and updated annually thereafter.

Joe's recent speaking engagements and publications include:

• “Acquirer Beware: “Material Adverse Effects” in Merger Contracts and How Shifting Reimbursement Rates Impact the Healthcare Sector,” (August 2021) 
• “Town Hall for Massachusetts Childcare and Early Education Providers,” Webinar Recording (April 2020)
• “Recent Legal Developments in the U.S. Affecting Insurance Coverage For COVID-19 Related Losses,” (April 2020)
• “Satisfying “Commercially Reasonable Efforts” / “Best Efforts” Clauses in Today’s Environment,” (March 2020)
• “COVID-19: Business Interruption and Insurance Amid a Pandemic,” (March 2020)