Leading cases
We have long experience challenging the boundaries of traditional family law. Among many groundbreaking cases on which we have acted (not all of which have been made public), the following are our published and high-profile cases.
Our international surrogacy cases
Re IJ (a child) [2011] - Mr Justice Hedley in the High Court published his decision to award parenthood to a British couple who had conceived with a Ukrainian surrogate mother, highlighting the dangers of overseas surrogacy and the risks of relying on advice from foreign agencies untrained in UK law. Mr Justice Hedley gave a rare interview to the BBC's World at One about the case, prompting public debate on the issue. This included a debate on BBC's Woman's Hour about whether commercial surrogacy should be legalised, for which Natalie was interviewed. Our team successfully represented the parents in this case.
Re L (a minor) 2010 - Awarding parenthood to a British couple who had entered into a commercial surrogacy arrangement in the USA, the High Court set the landmark principle that the child’s welfare must be the court's 'paramount consideration' and that a parental order would be refused only if the case was one of the 'clearest abuse of public policy'. This decision will help many other parents conceiving through surrogacy abroad. The decision was widely reported, including being heralded by the main front page headline of the Daily Telegraph proclaiming "Childless couples win the right to pay surrogate mothers". Our team successfully represented the parents in this case.
Re X and Y (Foreign Surrogacy) 2008 - The very first and groundbreaking case involving a British couple who had gone to the Ukraine to enter into a commercial surrogacy arrangement. The High Court made a landmark decision, the first of its kind, to 'authorise' the payments that had been made to the Ukrainian surrogate mother, so that it could step in and protect the welfare of the twin children (who were otherwise stateless and parentless). The Times reported the case as "British surrogacy ruling saves baby twins from Ukraine orphanage". The decision was controversial because English law seeks to stop commercial surrogacy arrangements. However, it has formed the foundation for all subsequent international surrogacy cases heard by the English court. Natalie successfully led the case for the parents, supported by several other members of our team.
On embryo storage
Melanie and Robert Gladwin fought successfully to save their embryos from destruction with our help. Caught in a gap in the law, their much-wanted embryos faced destruction simply because they were stored too soon to benefit from changes to the law that were due to come into effect on 1 October 2009. Winning from the government an amendment to the new law just days before it was due to come into force, Melanie and Robert saved not only their own embryos, but also those of other parents storing embryos for surrogacy. The Daily Telegraph, among others, reported the case as "Embryo storage U-turn allows couples chance of parenthood".
On donor conception
Fireman Andy Bathie donated his sperm to a lesbian couple, and was subsequently pursued for maintenance by the CSA. The case won international news coverage in January 2008 and Natalie, who advised Andy, was named as Times Lawyer of the Week.
