About Rachel S.
Rachel S. Cotrino earned her B.A. in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2002 and went on to receive her J.D. from Vermont Law School in 2004. Her education established the legal foundation she would build on in the New Jersey and New York bars. Those jurisdictions appear on her professional record, reflecting the geographic reach of her practice.
Her early professional steps included a role as an associate at Gertner Mandel & Peslak, LLC beginning in 2008. Three years later she opened her own practice. In 2011 she formed the Law Office of Rachel S. Cotrino, LLC and has operated it since. Over the years she has combined private practice with service to the local bar. She joined the Ocean County Bar Association Family Law Committee in 2008 and remains an active member. In 2012 she also joined the Office of Lawyer Ethics Fee Arbitration Committee District IIIA, participating in the resolution of fee disputes and arbitration matters.
That committee work complements the legal work she handles day to day. Her professional activity is concentrated in family law matters, and her long-standing ties to the Ocean County Bar Association reflect that focus. Serving on the fee arbitration panel has required engagement with questions of attorney-client billing, disputed fees and procedural fairness. Those responsibilities have kept her involved in the mechanics of how legal services are delivered and how disagreements about fees are resolved.
Colleagues and people who have worked with her over the years note that running a small firm requires attention to many moving parts: case preparation, courtroom appearances and office management. Cotrino moved from associate to firm owner within a relatively short span of years, and she continues to practice from the firm she established. Her membership on bar committees keeps her connected to local practitioners and to issues in family law practice and fee arbitration.
She maintains her practice in both New Jersey and New York and handles matters that arise in those jurisdictions. She practices family law at the Law Office of Rachel S. Cotrino, LLC.
