Biographical Information
Joe Duncan represents clients ranging from family companies to Fortune 500 businesses at both the trial and appellate level. His practice consists of the defense of claims relating to personal injury, product liability, construction defect, contractual disputes, trucking and insurance coverage. Joe spends much of his time working with clients, contractors and trade groups to proactively reduce the risk of liability using lessons learned from litigation.
Joe has helped to mold Alabama law in both the legislative and judicial branches. He assisted in authoring legislation relating to contractor liability, contractor licensing, road builder liability, and statutes of repose. He has argued to the Alabama Supreme Court on the subjects of indemnity, personal injury and product liability. In Hosea Weaver and Sons, Inc. v. Balch, the Alabama Supreme Court recognized the “accepted-work doctrine” based on arguments made by Joe as amicus counsel on behalf of the Alabama Road Builders Association. The Court’s decision reversed a $7.5 million verdict in favor of the plaintiffs and rendered a judgment in favor of the defendant. More recently, in DISA Industries, Inc. v. Bell, Joe also successfully argued for the Court to reverse a $500,000 verdict in favor of a plaintiff and rendered the verdict in favor of the Defendant, a manufacturer of a cast iron molding line.
Joe and his wife, Ellen, live in Vestavia with their children, Porter and Sophie. In his spare time, Joe runs half marathons, has dabbled in competition bbq, enjoys traveling and spends much of his time coaching youth sports. Between baseball and softball, Joe has coached more than 300 games. He earned his undergraduate degree from Auburn University, where he played rugby and was a member of the school’s 1999 SECC Championship team. Joe earned his juris doctor from The University of Alabama School of Law where he also assisted in coaching rugby and served on the editorial board of the Alabama Law Review.
Admissions
- Alabama State Bar, 2003
Education
- Auburn University, cum laude, 2000
- University of Alabama School of Law, 2003
- Alabama Law Review, 2001-2003, Senior Articles Editor, 2002-2003
Additional Information
Civic and Professional Affiliations
- Executive Committee for the School of Construction, CLM Claims College
- CLM: Certified Claims Professional (CCP), Advanced Claims Professional (ACP) and Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP)
- Alabama Bar Association
- Birmingham Bar Association
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
- Alabama Defense Lawyers Association
Publications and Presentations
- Evaluating Potential Risk Transfer Issues, Themis Annual Conference, Key West February 2025
- Triple Play: The Developing World of AI in Evidence, Claims and Ethics, CLM Construction Conference 2024
- Emerging Trends in AI, Themis Annual Conference, Key Biscayne, February 2024
- CLM Annual conference 2023
- CLM Annual conference 2020, Wrap and Roll: How to Make Sure Your Wrap Doesn’t Get You Tied Up
- October 2019 CLM Litigation Management Institute, Resolution Strategies
- Builders vs. Mother Earth.
CLM Magazine (Claims & Litigation Management Alliance), August 2017.
(Co-author: Russ Patane.) - Duncan, Joe; Modlin, Phyllis; Moore, Kevin. The Subcontractor Revolution: Examining the Trend Away from Type I Indemnity and Additional Insured Coverage.
CLM Magazine, Winter 2014. - Alabama’s Contractor Statute of Repose.
The Alabama Roadbuilder, Fall 2010. - Indemnification and Risk-Shifting in Construction Contracts
Alabama Construction News, December 2011 / January 2012, pp. 46–49. - Alabama Supreme Court Restores Two-Year Statute of Limitations for Claims of Wantonness.
Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA) Publication, c. 2011. - Design for Safety: A Team Sport, White Paper, June 2011
- The Alabama Supreme Court’s Modification of the Rule of Repose, Alabama Construction News, October/November 2010
- Alabama Legislature Modifies Rule of Repose for Contractors, Alabama Construction News, August/September 2011
Awards
- AV Rated- Martindale Hubbell
- Mid-South Super Lawyers© 2019- current
- Mid-South Super Lawyers© Rising Star,2015-2018
- Alabama Rising Star© 2013-2015
- Best Lawyers In America©, Construction Law, Litigation – Construction, Litigation – Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, 2023 – Current
