About Casey (she/her/hers)
Email: kdipaola@theCDSLawFirm.com
Primary Practice Areas
Casey was previously an associate attorney at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, Albany’s largest law firm, where she practiced primarily in the areas of Labor and Employment, Education and Litigation. Casey joined her mother, Anne Reynolds Copps, in practice as an associate with the firm in 2012 and became Anne’s partner in 2014, creating Copps DiPaola, PLLC, the first mother-daughter law firm in the Capital Region. In 2018, Lorraine Silverman joined the firm as a partner and the firm name changed to its current name.
Casey focuses her practice in all areas of adoption law. She has experience representing birth and adoptive parents in private adoptions, voluntary agency adoptions, foster care adoptions, and step/second parent adoptions. Casey also has experience representing adoption agencies and handling adoption subsidy fair hearings. Casey also practices in the related areas of assisted reproductive technology law (egg/sperm/embryo donation and surrogacy/gestational carrier agreements) and kinship guardianship (KinGAP).
Casey is currently the President of New York Attorneys for Adoption & Family Formation and a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. She has taken an active role in advocating for legislation that will improve the lives of her clients in the realms of adoption and assisted reproduction. Specifically, she was a tireless advocate for the Child Parent Security Act, which was passed in April 2020 and now permits compensated surrogacy in New York, allows for a parentage proceeding in lieu of a step-parent adoption for same-sex female couples and provides various other protections for families created through assisted reproduction. Casey is also the founder of New York Surrogacy Center, the first surrogacy matching program to be licensed by the New York State Department of Health.
Casey also practices in the areas of estate planning/trusts and probate/estate administration. Estate planning is important for those who are starting a family and particularly for those using assisted reproduction, so Casey’s expertise in both family building and estate planning allows her clients to have comprehensive representation in these matters without involving multiple attorneys.
Casey understands that many of her clients come to her during difficult and stressful times in their lives. She strives to educate her clients on the law and their options so they can make educated decisions about the trajectory of their cases. Casey understands that, while the matter that brings her clients to her are incredibly important to them, the vast majority of her clients have limited funds to spend on legal representation. With that in mind, Casey openly discusses with her clients the relative costs of various options and helps them to engage in a cost-benefit analysis.
Casey prides herself on being a creative problem solver and refuses to take a one size fits all approach to her cases. She spends time with her clients getting to know the facts of their cases intimately so she can help them brainstorm possible solutions to the problem that brought them to her. Particularly in matters involving families, Casey believes that working together to come up with a solution that addresses the needs and concerns of all involved to the best extent possible is almost always preferable to litigation, which can do irreparable damage to relationships. That being said, Casey has extensive litigation experience and, in the event that settlement is not an option, she is willing and able to zealously litigate on behalf of her clients.
Casey regularly practices in the Capital District and surrounding counties, including Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Columbia, and Schoharie. Casey also routinely travels as far north as Plattsburgh, as far south as Kingston, and as far west as Syracuse to represent birth and adoptive parents in adoptions. Casey also practices throughout New York State for assisted reproduction matters (egg/sperm/embryo donation agreements, surrogacy agreements and parentage proceedings) because these do not typically require court appearances. Casey is also admitted in Vermont and New Jersey where she practices exclusively in adoption, surrogacy, and assisted reproductive technology law.
Casey lives in Clifton Park with her husband, Jeffrey, a high school special education teacher, and their children, Evan and Emily.
About Casey (she/her/hers)
Email: kdipaola@theCDSLawFirm.com
Primary Practice Areas
Casey was previously an associate attorney at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, Albany’s largest law firm, where she practiced primarily in the areas of Labor and Employment, Education and Litigation. Casey joined her mother, Anne Reynolds Copps, in practice as an associate with the firm in 2012 and became Anne’s partner in 2014, creating Copps DiPaola, PLLC, the first mother-daughter law firm in the Capital Region. In 2018, Lorraine Silverman joined the firm as a partner and the firm name changed to its current name.
Casey focuses her practice in all areas of adoption law. She has experience representing birth and adoptive parents in private adoptions, voluntary agency adoptions, foster care adoptions, and step/second parent adoptions. Casey also has experience representing adoption agencies and handling adoption subsidy fair hearings. Casey also practices in the related areas of assisted reproductive technology law (egg/sperm/embryo donation and surrogacy/gestational carrier agreements) and kinship guardianship (KinGAP).
Casey is currently the President of New York Attorneys for Adoption & Family Formation and a Fellow of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. She has taken an active role in advocating for legislation that will improve the lives of her clients in the realms of adoption and assisted reproduction. Specifically, she was a tireless advocate for the Child Parent Security Act, which was passed in April 2020 and now permits compensated surrogacy in New York, allows for a parentage proceeding in lieu of a step-parent adoption for same-sex female couples and provides various other protections for families created through assisted reproduction. Casey is also the founder of New York Surrogacy Center, the first surrogacy matching program to be licensed by the New York State Department of Health.
Casey also practices in the areas of estate planning/trusts and probate/estate administration. Estate planning is important for those who are starting a family and particularly for those using assisted reproduction, so Casey’s expertise in both family building and estate planning allows her clients to have comprehensive representation in these matters without involving multiple attorneys.
Casey understands that many of her clients come to her during difficult and stressful times in their lives. She strives to educate her clients on the law and their options so they can make educated decisions about the trajectory of their cases. Casey understands that, while the matter that brings her clients to her are incredibly important to them, the vast majority of her clients have limited funds to spend on legal representation. With that in mind, Casey openly discusses with her clients the relative costs of various options and helps them to engage in a cost-benefit analysis.
Casey prides herself on being a creative problem solver and refuses to take a one size fits all approach to her cases. She spends time with her clients getting to know the facts of their cases intimately so she can help them brainstorm possible solutions to the problem that brought them to her. Particularly in matters involving families, Casey believes that working together to come up with a solution that addresses the needs and concerns of all involved to the best extent possible is almost always preferable to litigation, which can do irreparable damage to relationships. That being said, Casey has extensive litigation experience and, in the event that settlement is not an option, she is willing and able to zealously litigate on behalf of her clients.
Casey regularly practices in the Capital District and surrounding counties, including Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Columbia, and Schoharie. Casey also routinely travels as far north as Plattsburgh, as far south as Kingston, and as far west as Syracuse to represent birth and adoptive parents in adoptions. Casey also practices throughout New York State for assisted reproduction matters (egg/sperm/embryo donation agreements, surrogacy agreements and parentage proceedings) because these do not typically require court appearances. Casey is also admitted in Vermont and New Jersey where she practices exclusively in adoption, surrogacy, and assisted reproductive technology law.
Casey lives in Clifton Park with her husband, Jeffrey, a high school special education teacher, and their children, Evan and Emily.