Joseph S. Geller was born in the Bronx, New York, New York. He has been a Florida resident since 1965. He attended Northwestern University and Florida State University, from which he received a B.A. in History in 1975. He received his J.D. from Florida State University College of Law in 1979, and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1980. Mr. Geller focuses his practice on civil litigation, administrative law, election law, government relations and municipal law. He has extensive litigation experience in both the Florida and federal courts. Mr. Geller was elected as Mayor of North Bay Village in 2004, and was reelected in 2006 serving until 2008. Mr. Geller is also the former long-time Chair of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party. Additionally, Mr. Geller serves as the Village Attorney for the Village of El Portal and the City Attorney for the City of Opa-Locka. He is also the former Town Attorney for the Town of Golden Beach and former City Attorney for the City of North Bay Village. Mr. Geller is a member of the Attorneys' Title Insurance Fund. Mr. Geller currently serves as the Southeast Regional President of the American Jewish Congress.
Mr. Geller has more than thirty (30) years experience, including State and Federal Court Litigation, at both the trial and appellate level. In addition to Complex Civil Litigation matters, Mr. Geller's practice focuses on Government Relations, Land Use and Zoning, Election Law, Municipal Law and Administrative Law. Mr. Geller is especially well known for a series of landmark Election Law cases, beginning with the City of Miami Mayoral Election Vote Fraud case in 1997, and including Recount Litigation, including the Gore Presidential Campaign in 2000, the "Ted's Shed" School Board residency case in 2000, successful representation of judicial candidates in the 2006 Election cycle, and recent successful representation in the 2010 cycle of candidates facing Resign to Run and Entitlement to Run-off issues. Mr. Geller has almost fifteen (15) years of experience in serving as a Municipal Attorney, and has served four (4) municipalities as their principal attorney, including two (2) at the present time, as well as serving as special counsel for a number of other municipalities. He has extensive litigation experience in a variety of complex civil litigation fields, including Construction Law, Intellectual Property, Fraud and Misrepresentation, Real Property Law, Family Law and Probate Litigation, along with others too numerous to mention.
Prior to joining Greenspoon Marder, Mr. Geller was partners with his brother, Senator Steven A. Geller, for many years in Geller & Geller, PA, a long-time South Florida Civil Law Firm.
Professional and Community Involvement:
· Village Attorney, Village of El Portal (1995-1997, 2000-present)
· Town Attorney, Town of Golden Beach (1999-2000)
· City Attorney, City of North Bay Village (2009-2010)
· City Attorney, City of Opa-Locka (December 2009-Present), Acting City Attorney (January-July 2008)
· Pro-Bono Counsel, Democracy Movement (1996-present)
· Mayor of North Bay Village (Elected November 2004), and reelected without opposition (November 2006)
· American Jewish Congress, Southeast Region, President (2004-present)
· First Vice President (2000-2004), Board of Directors, Member, National Executive Committee, Governing Council, and two-time Resolutions Committee Chair.
· Dade County Democratic Party, Chair (1989-2000)
· Democratic National Committee, Member (1996-2000), DNC Site Selection Committee (1993-1996)
· Women's Emergency Network, Board of Directors (1994-2007), Advisory Board (2007-present)
· Dade County Fair Campaign Practices Committee, Member (1989-2000)
· Kids Voting of Miami-Dade County, Advisory Board (1996-2000)
· Builders Association of South Florida, Board of Directors (1993-1995)
· Temple Beth El of North Bay Village, Board of Directors (1987-1991)
· B'nai B'rith, Zahav Unit, Vice President (1986-1990)
· Young Democrats of Florida, President (1978-1979)
· Young Democrats, National Committeeman (1981-1989)
· Winner of Silver Knight Award in Social Science, (1972)
Recognition:
· Rated AV® Preeminent ™, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
Publications:
· Greenspoon Marder, One-Stop Shop for Legal Matters