JOSEPH P. PETITO, ESQ.

Until his retirement in June, 2017 Mr. Petito had been with the global professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) for over 25 years, most recently serving as Lead Principal for the Firm’s state and local public policy practice in the United States. In this role, Mr. Petito had various responsibilities including overseeing the Firm’s relationships with state and local legislative, executive and regulatory bodies and accounting-related professional organizations, as well as for major engagements by the Firm with state and local government entities.  Prior to leading the Firm’s state and local public policy area, Mr. Petito worked in other areas of practice within PwC, including on federal and state tax, securities law, and on legal liability and enforcement related issues.  He is based in PwC’s Washington, DC and Sacramento, California offices.

Before joining PwC in the mid-1990s, Mr. Petito held senior positions at the American Institute of Certified Accountants (AICPA), the largest CPA professional association in the United States.  He served as a senior aide to a New Jersey Member of Congress and a New Jersey Governor, and had been a senior executive for a major New Jersey-based energy and utility company.

During his career, Mr. Petito has been involved on cutting edge developments in accounting, law and public policy.  He was involved in the creation and development of the original Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) and Limited Liability Company (LLC) laws, and with the enactment of such laws in nearly every state.  He has led or been involved in numerous other legislative and regulatory campaigns, including on accounting, tax, legal liability, budget, finance, and other business-related issues.  Most recently, Mr. Petito has been engaged across the United States on research and in discussions over the reform of state tax systems, including proposals by states such as California to tax services.

While not an accountant, Mr. Petito has had significant experience in public accounting, and has often testified and has been an expert witness on accounting and accounting related matters. Most recently, Mr. Petito initiated a nationwide program to enhance the quality of continuing professional education in ethics for accountants and other professionals by developing and raising funding for innovative ethics continuing education research, material and programs.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Center for the Public Trust.  He continues to lecture at the University of Delaware on Ethical Leadership.

Mr. Petito has had a significant amount of experience working on legal, liability and judicial-related issues.  He recently served on the Board of Trustees of The National Judicial College, has been the Chair and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Tort Reform Association, serves on the Boards of numerous state law related coalitions, and is a current member and immediate past co-chair of the Civil Justice Reform Group.

Mr. Petito has a BA in Political Science from Rutgers University (1978) and a J.D. from Seton Hall School of Law (1983).  He is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and is a member of the New Jersey and the American Bar Associations.  He is married with two grown children.