Arla Dawn Cahill

Protecting Rights, Preserving Legacies, Planning for the Future

Arla D. Cahill is a member of the Litigation and Elder Law Departments and is the Chair of the Firm’s Education Law Practice Group and Co-Chair of the Special Needs Practice Group. She is a seasoned litigator and trusted legal advisor with extensive experience representing individuals and families in special education disputes, Section 504 accommodations, anti-bullying and student discipline, guardianship proceedings, and employment discrimination and workplace accommodation matters. Arla also maintains a sophisticated trusts and estates litigation and planning practice, representing clients in contested probate matters, fiduciary disputes, estate foreclosures, estate planning and administration, and elder law matters.

Admitted to practice law in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, Arla regularly appears before state and federal trial, appellate, and administrative courts. She is known for providing practical, strategic counsel while effectively advocating for her clients in complex matters and compassionately guiding them through emotionally charged and sensitive matters.

Whether protecting a family’s inheritance, securing special education services for a child with disabilities, establishing a guardianship for a vulnerable adult, or resolving complex fiduciary disputes, Arla provides practical, results-oriented counsel tailored to each client’s unique objectives. She works closely with individuals and families to develop thoughtful legal solutions that protect their interests while planning for the future.

Arla lectures on various special education and ethics topics on a national level to attorneys and was honored with the prestigious Outstanding Faculty Award for 2023 by the National Business Institute in recognition of her contributions and the quality of her presentations.

Arla is also actively involved in numerous professional organizations, including the New Jersey State Bar Association (School Law Special Committee, Elder and Disability Law Section, and Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law Section), the New York State Bar Association, Sussex County Bar Association, Worrall F. Mountain American Inn of Court (Master), SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and the Academy of Special Needs Planners.

Arla’s commitment to service extends beyond her legal practice. She serves as a trustee and was the former President of the Boards of Employment Horizons, Inc. and Employment Horizons Enterprises, Inc., organizations dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities achieve meaningful employment. She also serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court District V-B Ethics Committee, including serving terms as Chair and Vice Chair. Since 2012, she has participated in numerous charitable cycling and walking events benefiting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Diabetes Association, Autism New Jersey, among others.

Arla was recognized by New Jersey Super Lawyers in its Super Lawyers list from 2022 to 2026 and as a “Rising Star” (2006-2009).* She was also recognized as an Essex County “Top Lawyer” in the Morris/Essex Health & Life Magazine from 2023 to 2026.

*See Award Information and Methodology. No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.