Jennifer Coatsworth has litigated hundreds of motor vehicle, dealer fraud and lemon law cases from both the plaintiff and defense perspectives, including claims for breach of contract, fraud, violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Magnuson Moss Warranty Improvement Act, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Lemon Laws, the New Vehicle Damage Disclosure Act and the Automotive Industry Trade Practices Act, driver privacy protection issues, odometer alteration and Truth in Lending matters.
She also focuses her practice on the defense of professionals, including real estate agents, home inspectors, accountants and physicians. Most commonly, the types of claims she handles relate to allegations of breach of contract and fraud or nondisclosure under the Real Estate Sellers Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Licensing Act and the Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Additionally, Jen has handled a number of fraternity hazing and general liability cases, and she has extensive experience with premises liability, product liability, employment and construction matters. She has been called upon to conduct risk management seminars for her clients and to speak at various CLEs in her areas of expertise.
Jen’s professional activities extend beyond the court room. She has been actively involved in the legal community, holding various leadership positions for more than a decade. In 2024, Jen served the community as Chancellor for the Philadelphia Bar Association. Prior to this, she held the position of Chancellor-Elect in 2023 and Vice Chancellor in 2022, having prevailed in her election to that position in 2021. In 2019 and 2020, she served two terms as the Secretary for the Philadelphia Bar Association, following a three-year term as Assistant Secretary. Additionally, she served as the Parliamentarian of the Board of Governors for one year, following a three-year elected term.
Jen is also very active with the Pennsylvania Bar Association, where she currently serves as Chair of the Membership Development Committee, Co-Vice Chair of the Civil & Equal Rights Committee, and Co-Vice Chair of the Large Firm Management Committee. She previously served as Zone One Governor, Chair of the Civil Litigation Section and the Commission on Women in the Profession and as a member of the Judicial Evaluation Commission of the State Bar. In other areas of the Philadelphia legal community, Jen served as Chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, and she was a member of the Executive Council of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel for more than a decade and chaired the Events, Diversity and Judicial Relations subcommittees.
Honors
•Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel’s Inaugural Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement Award (2021)
•Temple Law Alumni Association Women’s Champion Award (2021)
•Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel, Distinguished Young Lawyer (2011)
•Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel, Presidential Acknowledgement (2014)
•Who’s Next in the Legal Industry by BillyPenn.com (2015)
•Pennsylvania Bar Association President’s Award of Achievement (2017)
•C. Dale McClain Quality of Life/Balance Award (2021)
•Philadelphia LGBTQ Bar Association Ally of the Year Award (2021)
•Pennsylvania Bar Association Women in the Profession Lynette Norton Award (2024)
•Power of Diversity: Women Top 100 List (2023, 2024)
•Pennsylvania Super Lawyers (2022-2026); Rising Star (2011-2018)
•AV Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rated
Articles & Publications
PA Supreme Court Creates Strict Liability for Violation of the UTPCPL
Recent Developments in the Defense of Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law Claims
Supreme Court Makes it Easier to Obtain Treble Damages Under UTPCPL
Expert Report Late, What to Do?
Speaking Engagements
•U.S. Supreme Court Review,” Moderator and Speaker, Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Mid-Year Meeting (January 30, 2026)
•“Litigation Update,” Fraternal Law Conference (November 6, 2025)
•“Depositions,” Personal Injury Primer Plus 2025, Dispute Resolution Institute and Pennsylvania Bar Institute (July 29, 2025)
•“Civil Litigation Update 2025,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Civil Litigation Update 2025 (June 24, 2025)
•“Ethics, Professionalism, and Civility,” PBI’s Personal Injury Law Conference (October 24, 2024)
•“Women in Leadership,” Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel 6th Annual Women’s Event (March 5, 2024)
•“Dealing with Clients Ethically,” Personal Injury Institute (October 19, 2023)
•“Handling UTPCPL Claims,” Pennsylvania Insurance Carrier Team Seminar (October 18, 2023)
•“Preparing for Litigation and Litigation Best Practices,” Risk Management Seminar (June 19, 2023)
•“Hot Topics: Consumer Fraud,” Pennsylvania Bar Civil Litigation Section (April 21, 2023)
•“Attorney Wellness and Wellbeing During Covid-19: How Has the Legal Profession Been Impacted?” Pennsylvania Bar Association Mid-Year Meeting (February 2, 2022)
•“Investigating Burn Injuries,” Moderator, Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (March 16, 2021)
•“Inclusion in 2021: Overcoming Bias, Challenges and Obstacles,” Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (February 16, 2021)
•“Rule 8.4(g): Past, Present, and the Business and Ethical Case for Non-Discrimination,” Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel and LGBTQ+ Lawyers of Philadelphia (December 18, 2020)
•“Persuasive Opening Statements,” Moderator, Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (November 17, 2020)
•“8.4(g) and Free Speech,” Brandeis Law Society (October 28, 2020)
•“Distance Litigation in the Era of COVID-19,” Pennsylvania Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Section and Civil Litigation Section (October 2, 2020)
•“The Tri-Partite Relationship Among the Insured, Insurer and Defense Attorney: What you Need to Know as a Plaintiff’s Attorney,” Moderator, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Personal Injury Law Conference (September 10, 2020)
•“Diversity in the Practice of Personal Injury Law,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute Personal Injury Law Conference (September 10, 2020)
•“Trial Skills from Trailblazing Women Litigators,” Moderator, Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Section and Women in the Profession Commission (August 6, 2020)
•“Chancellor Forum: COVID-19’s Impact on the Legal Profession,” Moderator, Philadelphia Bar Association (June 14, 2020)
•“Reaching Across the Bar: Litigation Opportunities in Times of Uncertainty,” Moderator, Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel and Philadelphia Association of Trial Lawyers (June 1, 2020)
•“Investigations in the Age of GeoSocial Data,” Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (May 15, 2020)
•“Tips and Strategies for Virtual Mediations and Depositions,” Moderator, Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Section (April 24, 2020)
•“Civil Litigation Update: Auto Law and Other Hot Topics,” Pennsylvania Bar Association MidYear Meeting (January 2020)
•“Modeling Inclusion: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and the Model Rules,” Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel and LGBTQ+ Lawyers of Philadelphia (November 2019)
•“The Ethical Case for Diversity: The Role of Model Rule 8.4g,” Pennsylvania Defense Institute Annual Meeting (July 12, 2019)
•“Why do we need Diversity: The ethical case for diversity,” Pennsylvania Defense Institute Annual Meeting (July 2019)
•“What Civil Litigators Can Learn from Recent High Profile Cases,” Moderator, Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Retreat (May 2019)
•“Choosing Your Audience Wisely, Jury Selection in State and Federal Court,” Moderator, Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Retreat (April 2018)
•Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Section Trial Mini Camp, Beaver, PA (March 2017) and Bellefonte, PA (December 2017)
•“Legal Ethics, Harassment and Discrimination: The Role of the Rules,” Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law (November 2017)
•“Harassment and Discrimination in Practice of Law: Assessing the Scope and Application of the New Model Rule,” Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil and Equal Rights Committee Symposium (July 2017)
•“Can We Rule Out Harassment and Discrimination in the Practice of Law? Assessing the Scope and Application of the New Model Rule,” Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Retreat (March 2017)
•“Judicial Roundtable, a View from the Bench,” Moderator, Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Retreat (April 2016)
•Personal Injury Litigation Basics - Discovery (January 2016)
•Construction Defect Litigation: Claims and Coverage (August 2012)
•“Supreme Court Makes it Easier to Obtain Treble Damages Under UTPCPL”
“Expert Report Late, What to Do?”
•“High Profile Cases in the Media,” Pennsylvania Bar Association Civil Litigation Section Retreat, Moderator
•“Update on Venue and Forum Non Conveniens,” Defense Research Institute, Personal Injury Potpourri
•“Insights into Philadelphia Motion Practice,” Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel Young Lawyers Trial Seminar, Moderator (Undated)
•“Low Impact Soft Tissue Injuries,” Reading, PA (2009)
•“Risk Management for Real Estate Professionals,” Various locations (2008)
•“Procedures for Motion Practice in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas,” Pennsylvania Bar Institute (Atlantic City, NJ, 2007)
Civic & Community Activities
•Community Legal Services - Leadership Council (2019-present)
•Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program Board (2022-2024)
•Philadelphia Public Interest Law Center Board (2022-2024)
•Philadelphia Bar Foundation Board (2022-2024), fundraiser co-chair (2023), Programs and DEI Committees (2022-2024)
•University of Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors (2025)
•University of Maryland Alumni Association and Athletic Scholarship Fund Board (2002-present), local co-president, (2002-2021), Treasurer (2021-present)
•Storybook Musical Theatre, board counsel
News & Case Results
Court Awards Full Recovery to Commercial Landlord in Morris County Lease Dispute
12 Attorneys Named to the 2025 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers & Rising Stars Lists
Coatsworth and Phelan Secure $250K Settlement for Tenant, a Nonprofit Youth Org
Congratulations to Our 2024 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers & Rising Stars
Jen Coatsworth Receives the Lynette Norton Award at the PBA Annual Meeting
Coatsworth Champions DEIB at the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Spring Quarterly Diversity Summit
Jen Coatsworth Joins Forces with Legal Committees to Discuss The Motherhood Penalty
Jen Coatsworth Presents Protecting the Rule of Law in Honor of International Women’s Day
Justinian Society of Philadelphia Honors Jen Coatsworth
Jen Coatsworth Gives Remarks at the Martin Luther King Annual Memorial Breakfast Hosted by the Philadelphia Barristers’ Association
Congratulations to Jennifer Coatsworth on Receipt of Award from the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel
Recognition to Jennifer Coatsworth
Margolis Edelstein Recognized as “Defense Firm of the Year”
Residential Mortgage, Breach of Contract - Defense Verdict
Summary Judgment - Intermodal Container - Load Shift - Pennsylvania Manufacturer
Summary Judgment - Baling Wire - Wrongful Death - Essex, NJ
