999 Vanderbilt Beach Road - Suite 501
Naples, FL 34108
Tel: 239.552.3200
Fax: 239.514.2146

Practice Group
	Community Association
	Disaster Recovery
Areas of Emphasis
	Community Association Law

Joseph E. Adams (Shareholder)
jadams@becker-poliakoff.com


Professional Profile
Joseph E. Adams is the Managing Shareholder of the Firm’s Naples and Fort Myers Offices. He joined Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. in 1987. Mr. Adams concentrates his legal practice on the law of community associations, primarily representing condominium, cooperative, and homeowners’ associations, as well as country clubs, mobile home communities, and amenities associations, including marinas and golf courses. Mr. Adams has been very active in community association legislation and rulemaking and has drafted several pieces of legislation affecting community associations which have been adopted by the Florida Legislature.

Mr. Adams has achieved an “AV” rating from Martindale–Hubbell, which “identifies a lawyer with very high to preeminent legal ability, [and] is a reflection of expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence.”

Activities & Memberships
Mr. Adams is a Member of the College of Community Association Lawyers. Membership in the College is reserved for attorneys throughout the United States who have focused their practice in the law of community associations for at least ten years, and have demonstrated leadership in the field through scholarly writings, legislative activities, and other contributions to the industry. Mr. Adams has twice made continuing education presentations at the College’s Annual Meeting.

Florida’s Speaker of the House of Representatives appointed Mr. Adams to serve on the Advisory Council on Condominiums in 2004. In 2005, Mr. Adams was elected as Chairman of the Advisory Council, and served on the Council through 2007.

Publications & Presentations
Mr. Adams is the author of a weekly newspaper column called " Community Life", that has appeared in the weekly Real Estate Section of the Fort Myers News-Press since 1996. His three law review articles were published by the Nova Law Review, Nova Southeastern University. In December 2008, Mr. Adams published New Law Impacts Condominium Reconstruction after Casualty in the Florida Community Association Journal.

Mr. Adams’ writings involving community association law and operations include numerous newsletter and magazine articles, three published Law Review articles, and a Chapter in the Florida Bar handbook for attorneys. Mr. Adams’ writings have been cited by the Florida appellate courts and in the Florida Statutes Annotated as legal authority.

Mr. Adams has presented annually to the University of Miami School of Law’s Annual Cluster Housing Institute, the premiere annual seminar for Florida’s community association lawyers. Mr. Adams has also lectured at numerous other CLE programs for Florida attorneys, including through his role as an active member of the Florida Bar Real Property Section, Committee on Condominiums and Planned Unit Developments. Mr. Adams regularly speaks at Firm seminars and for various industry groups and local organizations.

Awards & Recognition
Florida Trend magazine has recognized Mr. Adams each year since 2004 among its “Legal Elite” in the area of Real Estate/Community Association Law thus making him a member of the Legal Elite Hall of Fame. Also, since 2005, Mr. Adams has annually been designated as a “Florida Super Lawyer,” which names Florida 's top 5% of lawyers, as chosen by their peers. Furthermore, Mr. Adams was also rated "excellent" by Avvo Ratings, an online lawyer listing that rates and profiles attorneys. The rating is based on a mathematical model that considers the information in a lawyer's profile, including years in practice, disciplinary history, professional achievements and industry recognition.

Bar Admissions
Pennsylvania, 1984
Florida, 1985

Education
J.D., University of Pittsburgh, 1984
B.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1981