How to Choose an Adoption or Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorney

Here are some important areas to consider when selecting your attorney for family building through adoption or assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Relevant Experience

Adoption law, which includes both domestic and international and ART law, is complicated. You should be represented by someone with broad experience and understanding in these areas. An excellent adoption and ART attorney should be familiar not only with Massachusetts adoption law but also with handling situations in which the child to be adopted is born outside your home state. This requires knowledge of the interstate compact. Your attorney should also be familiar with international adoption law including the Hague Treaty on Adoption, which entered into force in the United States on April 1, 2008.

If you are involved in an ART situation, either as an intended parent, an egg donor, or a gestational carrier, you should seek an attorney familiar with drafting and negotiating agreements in this area. This attorney should also know how to obtain prebirth judgments and orders, stepparent adoption decrees, guardianships and other indicated court orders.

Both Legal and Non-Legal Education

You should inquire as to your prospective attorney’s legal education as well as any litigation experience that this attorney might have. Although the style of most adoption practice tends to be collegial and cooperative, your adoption and ART attorney needs to be able to deal persuasively with state agencies, both in your home state and in other states, adoption agencies, federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, as well as attorneys for opposing parties such as an uncooperative, putative birth father. If your attorney does not have an excellent law school education and relevant legal experience, including litigation practice, your representation may be less effective.

An Attorney who Listens and is Available to You

While your particular situation and specific needs may vary depending upon the nature of your adoption or ART matter, your attorney must listen to your concerns and be experienced in representing clients of all life styles and backgrounds. Your attorney should be responsive to your questions and requests, as measured, for example, by prompt attention to your telephone messages and e-mails.

Explanation of Fee Structure

Fees in the areas of adoption and ART law can be substantial because these areas may involve complicated factual and legal issues that often need to be responded to expeditiously. Your attorney should explain to you, at the beginning of your relationship, his or her fee structure. For example, is it hourly, a flat fee, or some combination of the two? The fee structure should be set forth in writing, preferably as a Fee Agreement, which both you and your attorney sign. You should receive itemized monthly invoices to be kept informed as to the work your attorney is doing.

Trust and Confidence

The bottom line, after you have considered the attorney’s experience, legal education, personal qualities and fee structure, is that you should have a feeling of trust and confidence that your attorney is willing and able to represent you. If so, you can proceed to retain that attorney as the result of a knowledgeable decision on your part. Should issues arise during the course of your relationship with your attorney, you should raise and discuss them in a non-adversarial manner when you first become aware of them. In that way, any misunderstandings or shortcomings can be resolved and your attorney can continue to effectively assist you.