Joe Fried & Joe Camerlengo's Trucking Bootcamp

I was born in San Diego, California, the 4th of 5 kids and the first son. My family emigrated to Israel when I was 5 years old; we lived there through the 1973 war, after which we moved back to the United States. After losing several friends in high school to DUI related crashes, I became a police officer. I investigated many crashes and saw first-hand the difference that a good lawyer can make. I attended the University of Georgia School of Law, followed by a federal court clerkship, then entered private practice. After some soul searching, I decided to focus on truck crash cases — at the time, that was not a thing. I have done my part over the last 18 years to make it a thing. I am Co-founder of the Academy of Truck Accident Lawyers and the National Board of Truck Crash Lawyers, and most recently I authored “A Law Enforcement Guide to Truck Driving Safety Standards.” At this point in my life, I want to pay it forward.

I grew up in Birmingham, MI. I am the youngest of eight children and attended an all-boys catholic school my whole life until I went to college at the University of Michigan. I went to night school at Detroit College of Law. My dad, my uncle, two of my brothers, and sister were lawyers. My first job was cutting lawns at age 10. I started working for my brother as a house painter at age 12. When I was 16 I started my own painting business and continued throughout high school, college, and law school, and a few years after until I was 32. I practiced law for eighteen years in Michigan until ten years ago when my roommate from the Trial Lawyers College, Nick Rowley, encouraged me to move to LA to become a PI lawyer. The California Bar took me four tries. I moved to Las Vegas this past March. I have recently taken up pickle ball, skiing and golf. I also think I'm competitive at connect four, backgammon, chess, and ping pong.

I was born in New York and lived there until my parents lost everything in the winter of 79-80 and moved us to Florida, where we first lived in a campground. Working our way back from a tent to an RV, to a townhouse was a character-building experience for our whole family. I attended the University of Florida, obtaining my BSBA in Finance and Juris Doctorate degrees with honors. I worked as an insurance defense attorney for over 7 years before switching sides in 2001 to represent those injured and killed at the hands of others. My crusade into trucking and CMV crash cases started in 2008 with the family of a beautiful 19-year-old girl killed by a tractor pulling double trailers down a little county road in Florida. I was among the initial class of 9 lawyers that achieved NBTA board certification in Truck Accident Law, am Board Certified in Civil Trial by the Florida Bar and the NBTA, and am a past president of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. My passion is pursuing justice for these families and helping other great trial lawyers do the same.