Kathleen (“Casey”) Copps DiPaola, Esq. is a partner of Copps DiPaola Silverman, PLLC in Albany, New York where she has focused her practice on Adoption, Assisted Reproduction, Surrogacy and Estate Planning & Probate for the last 15+ years. Casey is an Adoption/ART Fellow of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (“AAAA”), the Immediate Past President of New York Attorneys for Adoption & Family Formation (“NYAAFF”) after serving 6 years as its President and also an active member of various local, state and national bar associations. Casey worked tirelessly for several years as a member of the team that helped to draft the New York Child Parent Security Act (the law legalizing compensated surrogacy in New York) and advocate for its enactment by the legislature. She is also a frequent lecturer to attorneys, judges, law students, fertility clinics and other organizations on the topics of adoption, assisted reproduction/surrogacy and the intersection of estate planning and family formation. Casey, along with Joseph Williams, founded the New York Surrogacy Center, a surrogacy matching program licensed by the New York State Department of Health. Casey is licensed to practice in state courts in New York, New Jersey and Vermont as well as various federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Casey is also an active volunteer in her community in both a legal and non-legal capacity, including as pro bono counsel to The Pride Center of the Capital Region. She lives in upstate New York with her husband and two children.

Joseph R. Williams practices primarily in the field of assisted reproductive technology law, including egg/sperm/embryo donation and gestational surrogacy. Joe works with clients who are looking to start or expand their families through assisted reproduction, and assists clients in protecting their parental rights for their children born through assisted reproduction. Joe also represents surrogates and intended parents in agency surrogacy matches and independent surrogacy matches, including drafting surrogacy agreements and filing parentage proceedings during the surrogate pregnancy. Joe also practices in the fields of matrimonial, family, and adoption law, representing individuals in the negotiation and litigation of separation, divorce, child custody, support and domestic violence matters, as well as all areas of adoption law, including private adoptions, voluntary agency adoptions, foster care adoptions and step/second parent adoptions. He has extensive experience representing clients in the Supreme, Surrogates and Family Courts throughout the Capital District.

Ashlee Pestuglicci is the Office Manager at Copps DiPaola Silverman, PLLC. In this position, Ashlee works closely with the Firm’s partners and staff to ensure that clients’ needs and expectations are met. She oversees daily operations and supervises staff to guarantee that the office is running smoothly. She assists in the development and implementation of firm policies and procedures by managing and overseeing administration of Human Resources. Additionally, she manages and oversees all finances of the firm which includes accounts receivables, accounts payables, and managing monthly billing. She also performs various administrative tasks at the request of the Firm’s partners. Ashlee joined the Firm in 2021 as a receptionist/administrative assistant/internal bookkeeper. Prior to that, Ashlee was a Patient Care Coordinator for one of Albany’s largest Orthopedic Surgery practices, where she managed patients for six physicians. She has an extensive background in office administrative. Additionally, she has many years of experience in customer service. Ashlee graduated with an advanced Regents diploma from South Colonie Central High School and attended Hudson Valley Community College. She currently resides in Rotterdam, NY with her husband, Justin, and their son, Mason. Ashlee is a passionate country music fan, she loves traveling, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.

Maggie Chan graduated from the University at Albany in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and a minor in Neuroscience. Since then, she has had experience working in worker’s compensation which helped her develop strong administrative and customer service skills. In her free time, Maggie enjoys trying new restaurants with her friends and winds down by reading books and listening to music. She has two sisters and two cats.