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Alexis L. Cirel is a partner in our Matrimonial and Family Law Group and a founding partner of our Fertility Law Group.

In addition to a robust matrimonial practice, Alexis is a recognized leader in the rapidly evolving area of fertility law allowing her to offer uniquely specialized counsel when these practice areas intersect, including with regard to embryo disputes.

Ms. Cirel was instrumental in the recent passage of the Child-Parent Security Act, legislation that legalizes gestational surrogacy in New York and ensures protections for New York families formed through the use of assisted reproduction, including being appointed to the Campaign Leadership Committee of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to pass the law.

Providing compassionate legal advice to all clients - whether they are going through a marriage dissolution or embarking on an exciting but complicated journey to building a family through assisted reproduction – is Ms. Cirel's commitment. Ms. Cirel also prides herself on being a passionate advocate and counselor who applies her technical and substantive litigation skills both effectively and empathetically when necessary.

Prior to joining the firm Ms. Cirel was a partner at a premier boutique matrimonial firm. Prior to that she was a senior litigation associate at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. She left the corporate world in order to focus her talents and experience exclusively on the practice of family law, and to pursue her personal and professional commitment to the human element of client-focused advocacy.

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BAR ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS

• Co-chair of the Surrogacy Subcommittee of the NYSBA Family Law Section
• American Bar Association’s Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technologies
• New York State Bar Association’s Family Law Section
• New York City Bar Association’s Matrimonial Committee
• Women’s Bar Association of the State of NY Health and Reproductive Rights Committee

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• ART Fellow, Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys
• Co-Chair, Legal Ethics Committee, Society for Ethical Egg Donation and Surrogacy. (SEEDS)
• Legal Professionals Group, American Society for Reproductive Medicine. (ASRM)
• Advisory Board Member, Nodal Health, Inc.
• Board Member, Baby Quest Foundation
• Peeps Volunteer Committee, the Chick Mission, Inc.
• Grant Committee, Men Having Babies Gay Parenting Assistance Program.

PRIOR AFFILIATIONS

• Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas, Partner
• Mayerson Abramowitz & Kahn, LLP, Partner
• Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Associate

PRESENTATIONS

• Yours, Mine, and Ours - The Crossroad Between Fertility and Family Law,American Bar Association Family Law Section Spring CLE Conference, New Orleans, April 2022
• Compensated Gestational Surrogacy Has Arrived: The Child Parent Security Act Becomes Effective February 2021 – Part II (Webinar), New York State Bar Association, February 18, 2021
• Gestational Surrogate Parenting Has Arrived: The Child Parent Security Act Becomes Effective in February 2021, (Webinar), New York State Bar Association, Annual Meeting, January 28, 2021
• Who is the Parent? - How the New World of Assisted Reproductive Technologies Is Affecting Decisions in Divorce, Family and Divorce Mediation Council of Greater New York. November 4, 2020
• The Child Parent Security Act: Parentage After Assisted Reproduction & Compensated Surrogacy (Webinar), New York State Bar Association, May 7, 2020
• Surrogacy and New York Parentage Laws, Time for a Change?, New York Women’s Bar Association, June 5, 2018
• Will the “Real” Parent Please Stand Up?, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), New York Chapter, Speaker, June 14, 2016 
• Death, Divorce and Reproductive Technology: What Every Practitioner Needs to Know About Planning For the Future; Resolving Disputes over the Distribution of Frozen Embryos in the Context of Divorce American Bar Association, 2015 Joint Fall CLE Conference, September 2015

AWARDS/HONORS

• Super Lawyers New York Metro (2018 - 2023)
• Named a Top Women Lawyer in Metro New York by Super Lawyers - 2023
• Named to Best Lawyer's (2023 - 2024)