Joseph R. Baznik was born in Hinsdale, Illinois on February 28, 1981. As a child, Joe was fortunate to spend a great deal of time with his grandparents who, along with his mother, immigrated to the United States from Mexico. It was during this time that he learned how to speak fluent Spanish and developed a deep appreciation for his Hispanic culture.
After graduating high school from Benet Academy, Joe attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received a B.A. in Economics and a Minor in Spanish. While attending the University of Illinois, he was heavily involved in community service projects such as tutoring minority high school students in Spanish. He was also awarded the Mother’s Day Hispanic Honors Scholarship for his academic achievements and community service efforts.
Upon graduating from college in May 2003, Joe moved to Lansing, MI to pursue a legal education at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. During the summer after his first year, Joe interned at the Refugee Legal Services Center in Lansing where he assisted newly arrived Cuban immigrants with their immigration legal issues. At the completion of this internship, Joe decided to continue putting his legal education to practice by seeking an internship with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Detroit, MI. While interning in the EEOC’s Legal Unit for over a year, he handled a wide range of employment discrimination cases under Title VII.
In addition to this valuable front-line experience, Joe excelled academically by graduating with distinction, gaining admission to the Thomas M. Cooley Journal of Practical and Clinical Law, and receiving Certificates of Merit in Advanced Legal Research and Writing and State Administrative Law courses.
After graduating in September 2006, Joe moved to North Carolina and passed the February 2007 Bar exam. He now practices in the firm’s Workers’ Compensation and Personal Injury sections. He is licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. Joe is also a member of the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association (Young Lawyers Division), the Mecklenburg and Wake County Bar Associations, and the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers (Workers’ Compensation and Auto-Torts sections).
Joe is also certified as a Superior Court Mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission. The mediator certification follows a comprehensive mediation training course which included topics in conflict resolution theory, mediation process, and mediation ethics. North Carolina has required mediation of Superior Court cases since 1995. Less formal than trial, mediation is a particularly effective form of conflict resolution that often costs less than trial. Joe mediates cases in an effort to help parties to legal disputes find constructive resolutions that are not always available when they hand their fates over to a judge or jury.
In 2017 Joe achieved Advocate status with the North Carolina Trial Association through their Educational Achievement Program where he completing over 20 hours of continuing legal education during the association’s fiscal year 2016-2017.
In his leisure time, Joe enjoys playing golf and rooting for the Chicago Cubs.
