Harold J. Cassidy

About Harold J. Cassidy

Harold J. Cassidy is a distinguished constitutional and civil rights attorney with over 45 years of experience in private practice, having served as counsel in two of the 100 most important cases of the 20th Century in American jurisprudence—more than any other attorney. Based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, Mr. Cassidy has engaged in a broad variety of trial and appellate litigation, earning national recognition as the leading defender of the rights of pregnant mothers against the excesses and abuses of an industry that violates women's constitutional protections. He gained historic prominence as Chief Counsel in the landmark Baby M case (In the Matter of Baby M, 109 N.J. 396 (1988)), the first case in the United States to strike down surrogate parenting contracts as illegal, unenforceable, exploitative of women, and against public policy. Throughout his career, Mr. Cassidy has successfully secured the return of mothers' children in situations where maternal rights were violated and the surrender of constitutional rights was uninformed or involuntary, establishing himself as a tireless advocate for women's rights and protections. Mr. Cassidy's groundbreaking work extends far beyond the Baby M case, having won multiple landmark decisions that have shaped American law. In 2008, he secured a cutting-edge en banc decision from the United States Court of Appeals holding that states may constitutionally require abortion doctors to disclose that the procedure would "terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being" before obtaining consent (Planned Parenthood v. Rounds, 530 F.3d 724 (8th Cir. 2008)). In 2012, he achieved another historic victory when a separate en banc federal appeals court ruled that abortion providers must disclose the increased risk of suicide ideation and suicide to pregnant mothers. Widely consulted by state legislatures across the nation, Mr. Cassidy's practice encompasses abortion litigation and legislative initiatives, birth mothers' rights cases, medical malpractice, racial injustice matters, and commercial litigation. He had the extraordinary honor of working with Saint Mother Teresa, who filed a Friend of the Court Brief in support of one of his cases—believed to be the only time Mother Teresa formally petitioned a government. With associates Thomas J. Viggiano III, Derek M. Cassidy, and Joseph R. Zakhary, the firm continues to provide exceptional legal representation in complex constitutional and civil rights matters from their offices at 750 Broad Street in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.

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