Welcome to The Surrogate's Corner - The Surrogate's Corner

How I found myself in The Surrogate’s Corner

The apple never falls too far from the tree. I grew up in a family of lawyers: both my parents have been practicing fertility attorneys since 1978; my uncle went to law school and decided to pursue a career in insurance; my older brother also went to law school but opted for defense contracting instead. Kitchen table conversations were more like debates and it became evident quite early on that only solid and valid arguments would carry any water in my family.

My parents’ firm was one of the early players in California’s Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) community. They represented the Buzzanca’s in their surrogacy contract that ultimately led to one of the seminal cases in California’s jurisprudence governing surrogacy arrangements. My early childhood and high school days routinely coincided with surrogacy arrangements where women delivered babies that would then go home with other families. As a young boy this seemed a bit strange to me. Afterall, why would a woman go through the process of getting pregnant for someone else? But, over the years I came to fully understand and better appreciate just how profound a sacrifice and gift this choice was.

Fast forwarding several years, I graduated high school and was blessed with the opportunity to attend my childhood dream school, the University of Southern California. My sophomore year at USC found me wavering between going pre-med or pre-law. Then, 9/11 happened. My older brother was junior at the US Naval Academy when the Twin Towers fell. After a great deal of soul searching, and a little nudging from my parents, I decided to transfer from USC (with only one semester of credits left to graduate) and attend the US Naval Academy. Essentially, I entered as a freshman – you are required to complete all four years at a Service Academy – with the amazing class of 2007.

The Naval Academy was truly a transformative experience. There I met some of the most remarkable young men and women, many of whom entered straight into the Academy from high school, without the advantage I had of three years of civilian undergraduate experiences and education. One of those extraordinary students would turn out to be my partner for life. My wife, Michelle (Class of 2006), was, is, and always will be, a better Naval Officer than I could ever dream of. We started dating in her senior year, and while work and school required long-distance dating for what seemed like an eternity, we married five years later.

The impact of having the right people in your corner

During our time of being separated by continents and numerous time zones, I went to graduate school at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and found myself boxing for the Cambridge University team. I had the fortunate experience of winning my Cambridge-Oxford bout and earned my Varsity Blue (essentially a varsity letter in the sport).

My experience boxing and practicing in the ring became a metaphor for this new blog and law firm, The Surrogate’s Corner. When you are in the ring, it’s you versus the other boxer. The referee stays neutral and mediates the fight (like a surrogacy agency), but the only person you can rely on for strategic advice and honest counseling on what you need to do to win, is the person in your corner. That experience left an indelible impact on me.

After graduate school I began my Naval career in the submarine community. I spent nearly two years in Charleston, SC going to various schools for nuclear power training, took a short break for a knee surgery, and then I showed up to my first boat (USS Topeka, SSN-754) homeported in San Diego. I only got a spot in San Diego because Michelle and I had finally decided to get married and she was already stationed in San Diego, giving me priority preference for job opportunities there. I showed up to my boat and deployed 6 months later; Michelle deployed shortly after I moved in with her in San Diego. This began a three year on-and-off dance experienced by many dual-military couples.

We were blessed with our first child, Ainsley, in 2013. I was deployed on USS Albuquerque, SSN-706 for the last six months of the pregnancy and unfortunately, I missed the delivery. I was literally underwater! Following that ordeal, we decided that our deploying days were coming to an end. We left San Diego and moved back east to Annapolis, MD for our shore tours: I taught Economics at the US Naval Academy and Michelle drew the short stick with a 70-mile commute down to Pax River and back every day. In 2015, we welcomed our 2^nd child, Sean, before transitioning off Active Duty. We then moved back out to the West Coast so I could start law school at Stanford.

Committed Advocate for Surrogates & Donors

During my time teaching at the Naval Academy and all throughout my three years in law school, I worked for my parents’ firm, getting to learn the ropes of the surrogacy field and Third-Party Reproduction law (TPR), which is also referred to strangely as ART law (Assisted Reproductive Technology). That became the focus of my law career, and after graduating from Stanford in 2018 and passing the California Bar, I started taking over the day-today operations of the firm’s ART practice.

In the intervening 3+ years, Michelle and I have welcomed 2 more children, Wesley and Samuel. I have continued to expand my legal geographical footprint by earning licensure in several states, including AZ, D.C., CA, ID, MD, MT, NV, OR, WA, & WY. I absolutely love this area of the law and the opportunities to help build the future families of tomorrow. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in the middle of my weekend MBA program at UC Berkeley, we decided to move our family to Boise, ID, and I found myself with more and more chances to work closely with Surrogates.

My experience working with Surrogates has been incredibly meaningful and insightful. I began to hear anecdotal stories about Surrogates who felt like they were on their own when it came to issues regarding the legal aspects of the surrogacy process, and this was especially so after their initial surrogacy contracts were signed. Surrogacy agencies were trying to help the matches succeed, but often had to play the role of the neutral referee between the Gestational Carrier and Intended Parent(s) when things got challenging. Then, a case fell into my lap in mid-2021 that opened my eyes to a gap I felt increasingly compelled to fill.

A Surrogate found her way to me with a problem during her pregnancy regarding her contractual obligation to terminate her pregnancy. The lawyer that worked with her during her contract review was too busy to help her and she didn’t know who to look to for the legal assistance she needed. Naturally, she was worried about having legal questions with no real way to pay for legal advice. I was contacted by a mutual friend in the industry who asked if I could help her. Long story short, we worked together for several months and came to a resolution that she desired, all while complying with her contractual obligations. She often told me that she felt so alone in this process and that there wasn’t anyone involved in her match that was solely concerned about what was best for her; everyone was worried about what was best for the match. She was profoundly thankful, not only for my legal advice, but also because I was advocating for her interests and desires first and foremost. She finally felt like she had someone in her corner to lookout for what was best for her.

Hence, The Surrogate’s Corner was born.

There is NO greater joy than being involved in the miracle of life and the building of families. I call this area of law “warm fuzzy law” because usually matches go well, children are born, and families grow. What a blessing. However, as an attorney, I know that contracts are put in place for the moments and occasions when things don’t go as planned, when situations become complex, or matches fall apart. For those instances, I wanted to create a sound source of information and a law firm that is dedicated to advocating for and guiding Surrogates to what is best for them and their families. In surrogacy arrangements, Intended Parents are responsible for hiring all the necessary professionals and paying them; often, Surrogates can perceive themselves (rationally so) as the party without anyone to turn to for guidance. Here at The Surrogate’s Corner, our goal is to be that source of support and hope when things don’t go according to plan.