JENNIFER A. COTTELL
856.914.2087
AREA OF FOCUS
Shareholder, Workers’ Compensation Department. Focuses her practice in the representation of employers, self-insured companies, and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation defense matters.
EDUCATION
Albany Law School of Union University, Albany, NY J.D., 1994
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ B.S., cum laude, 1991
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Member: North Jersey Claims Association (February 2020-present)
BAR ADMISSIONS
New Jersey (1994)
U.S. Supreme Court of New Jersey
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
SELECTED REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Kocanowski v. Township of Bridgewater, 237 N.J. 3 (2019)
Ms. Cottell argued this case in the New Jersey Supreme Court, having won at the trial and appellate divisions previously. The court ultimately decided that volunteer firefighters were entitled to the maximum temp benefits despite having no lost wages and no paid employment outside the fire department.
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
“The Mechanics of Trying an Occupational Claim – Best Practices, Under N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 et seq.,” In-house, June 2025.
“The Decline of the New Jersey Premises Rule: Has the Rule Left the Premises for Good?” Millennium Seminars, LLC, December 2024.
“Developing Fraud Defenses In New Jersey Workers’ Comp – panel discussion,” Millennium Seminars, LLC, April 2022.
“The Impact of the COVID Essential Employee Law and the Pandemic on Workers’ Comp Now and in the Future,” Millennium Seminars, LLC, August 2021.
“Panel Discussion: Investigating Pre-Existing Disabilities and Chronic Conditions v. Acute Injuries,” Kirshner Spine Institute, September 2019.
“Permanent Total Disability: Law, Practices & Methods,” and “Ethics: A Review of New and Old Ethical Issues,” Law Day, Lebanon, NJ, May 2019.
PUBLICATIONS
NJ Workers’ Comp Legislative Update, a monthly article published on the firm’s New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Blog which discusses recent legislation relating to workers’ compensation. Author, 2022 to present.