Our People
Attorneys
Rutgers University School of Law
2 West Lafayette Street
Suite 275
Norristown, PA 19401-4758
Fax: 610.313.1689
Biography
Helen Casale is an advocate for her clients, often taking on the most complicated cases in domestic relations law. She concentrates her practice on all aspects of family law, including divorce, child support, custody, spousal support, asset protection, complex property division, date of separation issues, protection from abuse matters, and more.
She is also known as an expert in issues that same sex couples face including legal dissolution of civil unions, second parent adoption, custody, and support issues.
Helen is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Her commitment to diversity was recognized by Governor Edward G. Rendell in 2005, when she was appointed to serve on the Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness, of which she is currently Vice-Chair. She has successfully argued in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey appellate courts on issues regarding custody, equitable distribution, and alimony. She frequently writes and speaks on a range of family law topics and is a member of a number of family law committees including the Nicholas A. Cipriani American Inn of Court, the Camden County Bar Association, the Montgomery Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania and New Jersey State Bar Associations.
Her pro bono representations reflect her devotion to the practice of family law and include many civil union and uncontested divorce cases.
Helen has earned repeated recognition by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine as one of Pennsylvania’s top Family Law attorneys, and in 2011 she was listed among the top 50 female attorneys in Pennsylvania. She has received the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award and was named a Lawyer on the Fast Track by The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly.
Helen is a 1994 graduate of Rutgers School of Law – Camden and received a BA in communications from Lynchburg College. Prior to her law firm experience, Helen was a law clerk for the Honorable Martin A. Herman, Superior Court of New Jersey in the Family Division.
Education
Rutgers School of Law, Camden, New Jersey, 1994, JD
Lynchburg College, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1990, BA, cum laude
Clerkship
The Honorable Martin A. Herman, Superior Court of New Jersey, Family Division, 1994 – 1995
Honors and Awards
- Named by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine as one of Pennsylvania's top Family Law attorneys (2008 – 2011), one of the state's Top 50 female attorneys (2011), and as a Rising Star in Family Law (2005 – 2007) as a result of a statewide survey of lawyers
- Received the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 award, 2006
- Named a Lawyer on the Fast Track by The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly, 2005
Publications
- "Associate Burnout: What It Looks Like and How to Avoid It," The Legal Intelligencer, September 6, 2011
- “What You Need to Know About the New Custody Statute,” Upon Further Review, the Philadelphia Bar Association’s online legal journal (January 21, 2011)
- Intimate Partners/Legal Strangers: A Guide for Representing Unmarried Couples (PBI Press, (March 2011)
- Representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Clients in Pennsylvania (PBI Press, February 2009)
- Author of numerous articles for Pennsylvania Bar Institute publications on various topics, including equitable distribution, support, custody, and same-sex dissolution/adoption issues
- “Pro Bono Service in the Family Law Area: A Very Personal Dimension,” The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, August 2007
- “First Stop on the Road to Parenthood,” The Philadelphia Lawyer, Spring 2007
- “The New Definition of Family—Why Practitioners Should be Mindful of New Jersey’s Domestic Partnership Act,” The Philadelphia Lawyer, Fall 2005
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Chair, Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section Program Committee, 2009 – 2010
- Chair, Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on the Legal Rights of Gay Men and Lesbians
- Family Law Sections of the American, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey State Bar Associations
- Family Law Section, Montgomery Bar Association
- Family Law Committee, Camden County Bar Association
- Executive Committee, Nicholas A. Cipriani American Inn of Court
Community
- Vice-Chair, Pennsylvania Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness
- President of Board of Directors, CHOICE
- Board of Trustees, Bala House Montessori School
Teaching / Lecturing
- Pennsylvania Bar Institute - Frequent speaker and course planner for a variety of family law topics including custody, complex support and equitable distribution issues, and adoption issues
- Montgomery Bar Association, Family Law Section - Frequent Presenter
- New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education - Frequent speaker on issues relating to civil unions, dissolution of domestic partnerships, and adoption
- Annual Pennsylvania Trial Judges Judicial Conference, 2006 - Speaker on custody issues
- Philadelphia Municipal Trial Judges Conference - Guest speaker
- Philadelphia Bar Association Bench Bar Conference, 2005 - Speaker on same-sex marriage issues and civil unions
- Philadelphia Bar Association, Committee for Unrelated Cohabitants, 2005 - Speaker
- Lavender Law Conference - Guest lecturer
- Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender MBA Conference - Guest lecturer
- University of Pennsylvania GALA - Guest speaker
- Drexel University Law School - Guest speaker
- Adoptions from the Heart Annual Conference - Guest speaker
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- United States Supreme Court
- United States District Court for the District of New Jersey