Joel D. Hillygus

Joel D. Hillygus serves "Of Counsel" with Murphy & Riley, P.C., having joined the firm as an associate attorney in 2005.

While Joel was an associate with Murphy & Riley, his work involved the defense of civil actions in both Federal and State courts, including professional liability, wrongful death, premises liability, product liability, bad-faith claims and social services agency claims.  He focused his practice on insurance coverage analysis and advice, including litigation of declaratory judgment actions and complex claims such as the "Big Dig" tunnel collapse. 

Practice Areas

• Liability claims
• Insurance coverage

Bar and Court Admissions

• California, 1998
• Massachusetts, 2003
• North Carolina, 2010
• U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, 2003
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1999
• U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, 2006

Education

• University of Arkansas, B.A., 1995
• University of Arkansas School of Law, J.D., 1998; also served on the Arkansas Law Review

Professional Memberships

• Massachusetts Bar Association
• State Bar of California
• North Carolina Bar Association
• Durham County Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute
• Professional Liability Underwriting Society

Legal Publications and Significant Cases           

• Nierman v. Hyatt Corp., 441 Mass. 693 (2004)
• Correia v. Fagan, 452 Mass. 120 (2008)