He graduated cum laude from Washington State University in 1983 and earned his law degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law and the University of Georgia School of Law. Joseph began his career in the public sector, serving as the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Gainesville and then the Assistant District Attorney for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit. He joined Fox, Chandler, Homans, Hicks and McKinnon in 1989 and has represented a variety of public and private interests with a focus as a civil attorney since that time.