Surrogacy / Surrogate, Egg Donation, Sperm Donation Attorneys:
Skilled, Confidential Help from National Network of Experienced Lawyers
 

About Our Law Firm

National Fertility Law Center, Inc. was founded by Willard K. Halm and Thomas M. Pinkerton, attorneys who have specialized exclusively in assisted reproduction and family formation law for over a decade. They formed the firm to provide their knowledge, as both professionals and parents through surrogacy, to clients around the world. Knowing firsthand the happiness that assisted reproduction can bring to a family, Attorneys Halm and Pinkerton have tailored National Fertility Law Center to deliver the gold standard in legal services.
 

Our Founding Partners

Attorney Willard K. Halm specializes exclusively in assisted reproduction and family formation law. He has helped hundreds of intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors with contracts and parental rights judgments, and handled numerous cutting-edge cases . . . read more

Attorney Thomas M. Pinkerton has devoted his entire law practice to assisted reproduction law, including all legal aspects of surrogacy, egg donation, embryo donation, and sperm donation, for over a decade. He is a nationally recognized expert . . . read more
 

Of-Counsel Attorneys

National Fertility Law Center is a nationwide law firm. Our central offices are in Los Angeles and most documents are prepared there in our highly specialized formats, which are carefully tailored to fit your situation. However, some fertility law and family formation situations require one or more court appearances or official actions by an attorney licensed in a specific state. For that reason, we formed a nationwide network of experienced of-counsel attorneys. . . read more

Staff Attorneys

Richard B. Vaughn, Managing Attorney
 
As a lawyer since 1993 in Chicago and Los Angeles, Rich has assisted hundreds of clients with a large variety of contract, business, marketing, litigation, and corporate needs and brings a multi-disciplinary background to his role as NFLC's Managing Attorney. Rich studied reproductive and fertility law as a law student at Loyola University Chicago - School of Law and has been interested in these issues ever since. Rich and his husband, Thomas Woelfel, are the proud parents of twin boys through egg donation and surrogacy. Combining his passion for starting his own family with his legal background, it is with great enthusiasm and pride that he now assists NFLC in its nation-wide mission to provide legal services to clients hoping to build families through assisted reproduction. Rich's extracurricular pursuits are tied to advocacy for the LGBT community and to the medical, health and wellness industries. He is also an experienced fitness instructor, an active triathlete, a former paramedic, and board member of a medical device company.

  
Upon graduating from law school, Michelle chose to focus her career in the specialized areas of surrogacy and assisted reproductive law. As NFLC Senior Attorney, Michelle oversees the drafting of surrogacy and egg donation agreements, makes court appearances to obtain parental rights judgments and consults with surrogates, egg donors and intended parents. In addition, Michelle is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the company and managing the staff of NFLC. Practiced in both litigation and business legal fields, as well as knowledgeable from her experience of being an egg donor, Michelle brings a unique perspective to her role as a Senior Attorney with NFLC. Michelle is dedicated to ensuring that clients receive the most comprehensive service possible in creating their new families. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys reading, attending the theatre and traveling. She is also passionate about her involvement with Lions, Tigers and Bears, one of the few non-profit organizations dedicated to providing life-long homes for abandoned and abused exotic cats, such as tigers and leopards. Michelle serves both as a volunteer and Chair of the Lions, Tigers and Bear's annual fundraiser, "Between the Stripes."

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Kim Dendy, Senior Paralegal
 
Kim has worked in the legal field for over 20 years, dedicating over 10 years to the areas of surrogacy and reproductive law. In her role as Senior Paralegal, Kim is responsible for overseeing parental establishment cases and interacting with NFLC attorneys across the country. In her free time, Kim enjoys spending time with her children, jogging and going to the beach. As a mother of three, Kim understands the importance of family and finds working in this area of law a rewarding experience.

Toni Hughes, Paralegal
 
After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, Toni joined NFLC with hopes of gaining knowledge in the area of reproductive law to use as a springboard for pursuing her dream of attending law school. As a certified Paralegal and Case Manager with NFLC, she manages Surrogacy and Egg Donation cases. She also is involved in drafting legal documents for our clients and informed consent documents with our Of Counsel Attorney, Deb Forman. Besides spending time with her son, Jordan, Toni enjoys exploring new things, spending time with family and serving as a mentor and Youth Advisor for "J.O.Y. of Cochran."

Katie Bottum, Paralegal
 
Katie is a certified Paralegal and has dedicated over 5 years to the areas of surrogacy and reproductive law. As a Case Manger with NFLC, her job duties include managing Surrogacy, Egg Donation, Family Planning and Adoption cases. She received her Paralegal Certificate from Coastline Community College and plans to someday return to school to obtain a Bachelors degree. Katie truly enjoys helping others build their families through assisted reproduction and is thankful she has had this rewarding experience. Katie often spends her free time with family, friends and her boyfriend of seven years.

Marta Santiago, Legal Assistant
 
Marta has worked in the legal profession as a legal assistant since 1993, and has been with National Fertility Law Center since 2007. As a Case Manger with NFLC, her job duties mainly include managing Surrogacy and Egg Donation cases.  Born in Puerto Rico, Marta is bilingual and assists in communications with our growing Hispanic clientele. In her spare time she enjoys reading and loves music and dancing, especially Latin music and dance.

Cara Stecker, Legal Assistant
 
Cara has been with NFLC since 2005, accumulating a great deal of experience in managing Surrogacy and Egg Donation cases and now focuses on our clients' parental establishment cases. She obtained her Legal Assistant Certificate from Maric College and plans to return to school to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Sociology once her children are in school. Cara enjoys spending time with her husband and their three young children exploring the outdoors, cooking and crafting. Cara finds great joy in being part of a special team of people who help others fulfill their dreams of creating a family.

Patricia Windham, Legal Assistant
 
Trish has been with NFLC since 2010 and she is one of the two voices (Marta, being the other) that greet you when you call our office. Among other duties, she oversees our Family Planning Document cases, the distribution of completed contracts and parental establishment court orders to all parties, and the archiving of all case files.

Financial Administration

Ty Pinkerton, Financial Administrator
 
As the Financial Administrator at National Fertility Law Center, Ty is responsible, mainly, for the management and maintenance of the attorney-client trust account, as well as the daily financial operations for the business. Having been in the business with the Law Office of Thomas M. Pinkerton since 1998, Ty has garnered a great deal of experience with both customers and management of the client trust accounts. In addition to his duties as Financial Administrator, Ty is involved in a wide swath of other activities at NFLC, including Human Resources and I.T. Ty holds an M.A. in English and cherishes his role as "Mr. Grammar" and Team Support in the office.

Jenelle Ferreira, Assistant Financial Administrator
 
Jenelle has worked in the financial industry for six years and joined National Fertility Law Center in 2010. As the Assistant Financial Administrator at NFLC, Jenelle's main duties include the management of the business account and assisting with the attorney-client trust accounts. Born and raised in San Diego, Jenelle enjoys playing, coaching and watching soccer, along with cheering on her two children who play competitively. She also enjoys spending time at the beach with her husband and children during the warm summer months.

We Can Help You -- Please Call or E-Mail Us

National Fertility Law Center is committed to providing you and your family with extraordinary legal support in all aspects of family formation, whether you reside in the United States or are traveling to the United States from another country. For more information, please click on any of the menu links to the left, or call us toll-free at (800) 558-4009 (or at (619) 464-6640 from countries other than United States), or click here to contact us for a free consultation. We look forward to helping you.