Location: Haddonfield, New Jersey
Phone: (856) 429-5005
Fax: (856) 429-6328
Email: E-mail Me
Mr. Cofsky’s practice is devoted primarily to adoptions and assisted reproduction law. He also represents represents families in contested adoption matters. Mr. Cofsky is an experienced trial attorney having participated in many arbitration proceedings as well as jury trials and is Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney.
Mr. Cofsky is certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney, and has received A and V ratings by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for both ability and ethics. He has been named a New Jersey Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters. His expertise in real estate/business law includes both residential and commercial transactions, involving basic as well as complex matters including zoning/planning board proceedings.
The focus of Mr. Cofsky’s practice, the adoption and family formation practice, is a specialized and rewarding segment of the firm’s work. Mr. Cofsky represents adopting parents in private, agency, international, and domestic placements, and has also represented agencies. He has served as a lecturer and workshop leader at numerous adoption and assisted reproduction law seminars. Mr. Cofsky is a fellow and the Past President of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, and a fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys (both of which are now known as The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys). He has assisted over 1,500 families in completing their adoptions. In 2005 he was named as an Angel in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption in Washington, DC.
Mr. Cofsky’s education includes: the University of Pennsylvania (B.S., Chemical Engineering, 1968); Temple University Law School (J.D., 1973; LL.M., Taxation, 1978); Law Clerk to the Honorable Theodore O. Spaulding, Superior Court of PA; Law Clerk to the Honorable Marvin R. Halbert, Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, PA; and he is continuing with legal education courses, both as an attendee and lecturer.
Mr. Cofsky is a Past President of The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. During his tenure he oversaw the Academy’s participation in the drafting and enactment of the federal Accuracy for Adoptees Act which authorizes correction of birth certificates of foreign-born children adopted by US citizens, as well as the Academy’s participation in 2013 as an amicus in the United States Supreme Court case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl out of South Carolina which involved the Indian Child Welfare Act and the rights of individuals relating to preferences in adoptive placements. He also personally presented United States Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana with the Academy’s prestigious SAKA Award (Strengthening Adoption through Knowledge and Action) at the Academy’s 25th anniversary conference, for her dedication to adoption and for improving the lives children. Mr. Cofsky assisted the New Jersey Legislature in the drafting The New Jersey Gestational Carrier Act which became effective on May 30, 2018. He currently serves on the NJ Supreme Court Rules Committee and has assisted in drafting proposed revisions to the court rules involving adoption and assisted reproduction. He has served as a lecturer for continuing legal education courses, including a recent presentation for ICLE on ethics relating to the practice of adoption and assisted reproductive technology law, and for the Administrative Office of the Court on legal issues involving assisted reproduction law in New Jersey at the Family Division Education Conference.
Areas of Practice
- Adoption Law
- Assisted Reproduction Law
- Agency Adoptions
- Private Adoptions
- Foreign Re-adoptions and Confirmation
- Post-Adoption Issues
- Step-Parent Adoptions
- Real Estate Law
- Zoning and Planning
Certified Legal Specialties
- Certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Trial Attorney
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey, 1974
- Pennsylvania, 1973
- U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1976
- U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 1974
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1979
- U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania, 1979
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania, 1979
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1985
Education
- Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
LL.M. – 1978 - Temple University School of Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
J.D. – 1973 - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
B.S. – 1968
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Fellow and Past President
- American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys, Charter Member
- Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys
- New Jersey Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Charter Member
- New Jersey State Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- Camden County Bar Association
- American Association for Justice and New Jersey Association for Justice
- American Bar Association
Past Employment Positions
- Law Offices of Donald C. Cofsky
- Mazer & Cofsky, Partner
- Superior Court of Pennsylvania, Hon. Theodore O. Spaulding, Law Clerk
- Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, Hon. Marvin R. Halbert, Law Clerk
The Super Lawyers List is issued by Thompson Reuters. A description of the selection methodology can be found here. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.