Fertility Law Group Partners with A Damn Good Life to Help Breast Cancer Survivors Seeking to Build Their Families Through Surrogacy

Warshaw Burstein, LLP today announced that its Fertility Law Group is partnering with new non-profit, A Damn Good Life, to help women who have suffered from breast cancer become parents through surrogacy.

Warshaw Burstein’s Fertility Law Group Partners with Gays With Kids for First-of-Its-Kind Legal Guide on Surrogacy and IVF

First-of-its-Kind Legal Guide Informs Intended Dads About Building their Families Through Surrogacy and IVF.

Eric I. Wrubel, Alexis Cirel and Leron Thumim Named to Best Lawyers 2023 Lists

Eric I. Wrubel and Alexis Cirel Named Best Lawyers In America for the New York Area in 2023.
 
Warshaw Burstein Recognized as a 2023 U.S. News Best Law Firm, Tier 1 in NYC in Family Law

Partner Alexis Cirel was a panelist at the 2022 American Bar Association Family Law Section Spring CLE Conference

Last month, partner Alexis Cirel was a panelist at the American Bar Association Family Law Section Spring CLE Conference in New Orleans.

Warshaw Burstein Sues CNY Fertility For Negligent Handling of Same-Sex Couple’s Embryos

Eric Wrubel, a partner in and Chairman of the firm’s Matrimonial Group and Co-Chair of its Fertility Law Group, and Alan Pollack, a partner in the firm’s Litigation Group, have filed a complaint on behalf of their clients in Albany State Supreme Court against the CNY Fertility Center (CNY) and several of its physicians.

The Child Custody System Is Broken; Our Kids Need It Fixed

by Eric Wrubel
To fix the child custody system requires an acknowledgment that “the system” is broken. The legal system is ill-equipped to handle the dissolution of the family and its re-ordering post-divorce.

Alexis Cirel Named to Baby Quest Foundation Board of Directors

Non-Profit Awards Grants to Help Finance Advanced Fertility Treatments

Alexis Cirel, Partner in the Matrimonial Group and Founding Chair of the Fertility Law Group at Warshaw Burstein, LLP, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Baby Quest Foundation.

Eric Wrubel Elected President-Elect for American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, New York Chapter

Wrubel will become president in 2023 and serve a two-year term
Eric Wrubel, Chair of the Matrimonial Group and Co-Chair of the Fertility Law Group at Warshaw Burstein, LLP, was elected President-Elect for the New York Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers at its annual meeting on January 20, 2022.

Alexis Cirel interviewed for Robyn on Parental Leave Policies

Alexis Cirel, a partner in the Matrimonial and Family Law Group and Co-Chair of the Fertility Law Group, was recently interviewed on the topic of parental leave policies that account for nontraditional family structures in an article for Robyn, an online community focusing on support and parental wellness for expecting, new and hopeful-to-be parents.

Partner Alexis Cirel featured on The Not Safe For Mom Group Podcast

When her doctor presented gestational surrogacy as an option for Alexis Cirel, it felt, at first, like defeat. Not only was it something she hadn't ever anticipated, she learned that it wasn't even a legal option in New York at the time.

Fifteen Warshaw Burstein Lawyers Ranked as 2021 Super Lawyers

Eric Wrubel quoted within Time Magazine discussing Family Law and HBO’s new three-part documentary Nuclear Family

Alexis Cirel Featured within Law.com "How I Made Partner" Spotlight

Fertility Law Group practice leader Alexis Cirel featured within Law.com Q&A “How I Made Partner” spotlight.
 

Warshaw Burstein’s Fertility Law Group will sponsor the upcoming Men Having Babies East Coast Surrogacy Conference & Gay Parenting Expo on September 18-19, 2021

The elite professionals comprising Warshaw Burstein’s Fertility Law Group were invited to be a sponsor of the upcoming Men Having Babies East Coast Surrogacy Conference & Gay Parenting Expo.  
 

Eric Wrubel Included within the Gay With Kids® (GWT) Expert Network

Eric Wrubel, Chair of Warshaw Burstein’s LGBTQ Family Law Practice, has extensive experience representing LGBTQ individuals in family law matters, which has led to his specialization in same-sex divorce. He has been included within the Gay With Kids® (GWT) Expert Network.

EVENT RECAP- Alexis Cirel Joined Dr. Anate Brauer, IVF Director at Shady Grove Fertility for an Instagram Live on August 6, 2021.

Dr. Anate Brauer, IVF Director at Shady Grove Fertility and Alexis L. Cirel Fertility Law Group Leader at Warshaw Burstein, LLP hosted an Instagram Live on August 6th discussing Surrogacy, Infertility and more.

Fertility Law Group hosted "Surrogacy in Sag Harbor: Your Family, Your Way" Event.

Our Fertility Law Group hosted an event, Surrogacy in Sag Harbor: Your Family, Your Way.   It was a perfect evening celebrating the Child-Parent Security Act with incredible fertility leaders and reproductive health advocates. 

Fertility Law Group hosted "From Generation to Generation: An Introduction to Building Your Family with New York's New Surrogacy Law"

​The event was designed to educate intended parents and the public on what the path to surrogacy looks like now that the Child-Parent Security Act has made compensated gestational surrogacy legal in New York State. 

Sarah A. Steckler Joins Warshaw Burstein Fertility Law Group Rounding Out Services with Trusts and Estates Capabilities

Fertility Law Group is ‘One-Stop-Shop’ providing legal assistance for couples building their families through assisted reproduction

Q&A With Alexis Cirel: How One Passionate Attorney and Mom Helped Pass New York's Child-Parent Security Act

Fertility Law Group leader, Alexis Cirel, sat down with GoStork to discuss her journey to help develop and pass the Child-Parent Security Act.

Statement on New York State Department of Health Announcement of Gestational Surrogacy Program and Licensing Regulations 

New York State continued in its promise to make gestational surrogacy arrangements accessible to New Yorkers today when the Department of Health announced that it has launched its Gestational Surrogacy Program (GSP) and issued matching program regulations and application for licensure concurrent with the Child-Parent Security Act's February 15th effective date.  

Partner Alexis L. Cirel Featured on RESOLVE's Kitchen Table Conversation Series

​In a new episode of RESOLVE's Kitchen Table Conversations, partner Alexis L. Cirel ​discusses her advocacy work to make compensated surrogacy a reality in New York State and what it took to pass the Child-Parent Security Act.

Prominent Family Law Attorney Alexis L. Cirel Joins Warshaw Burstein to Launch Fertility Law Group with Eric Wrubel, Family Law LGBTQ+ Advocate

New York – February 17, 2021 Warshaw Burstein, LLP, a full-service law firm in New York City, today announced Alexis L. Cirel has joined the firm as a partner and launched the Fertility Law Group, which combines the talents of Ms. Cirel, and partner and Matrimonial Department chair, Eric Wrubel, to create a first-of-its-kind practice group in New York.

Warshaw Burstein Celebrates Enactment of the Child-Parent Security Act

Warshaw Burstein celebrates the enactment of the Child-Parent Security Act (CPSA), which becomes effective today. The CPSA legalizes compensated gestational surrogacy in New York and ensures protections for New York families formed through assisted reproduction, including same sex couples, cancer survivors, and others struggling with infertility.

The new law also sets the gold standard nationally for the protection of surrogates, requiring that all surrogacy contracts include a comprehensive and protective "Surrogate's Bill of Rights."

Statement on New Actions to Expand Access to Fertility Coverage for Same Sex Couples

Today's announcement by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is the natural progression in this State's acknowledgment of the various pathways to parentage that commenced with the passage of the Marriage Equality Act, the Court of Appeal's decision in Brooke S. B. v. Elizabeth A.C.C. and the passage of the Child Parent Security Act.

The prior social and financial barriers to being a parent are being removed one-by-one, so that love and commitment become the pillars of family.

Eric Wrubel Authors New York Law Journal Article on Balancing Parenting Roles Post Divorce Amid COVID

Eric Wrubel, partner and chair of the Matrimonial Law Department of WBNY, wrote an article for the New York Law Journal, “Blurred Lines: Balancing Parenting Roles Post Divorce Amid COVID.”

Podcast: Embryo Mix-Up Shocker – Attorney Eric Wrubel

In a recent podcast, Eric Wrubel, Partner and Chair of the firm’s Matrimonial Group, discussed his role in the riveting story about a case involving a fertility clinic mix- up that resulted in a woman carrying the intended children of two other families. The resulting Court decision set precedent that reverberates through surrogacy law in New York.

Alexis Cirel Authors New York Law Journal Article on the Child-Parent Security Act

Alexis Cirel wrote an article for the New York Law Journal, titled "The Child-Parent Security Act Is a Game Changer: Here's What You Need to Know". The CPSA is comprehensive, addressing and securing the legal relationship between children and their parents when the children were conceived through third-party reproduction.

Podcast: Courts, Covid, and Custody: A Hot Debate

Eric I. Wrubel and Sophie Jacobi-Parisi, partners in the Matrimonial Department of WBNY, engaged in a robust debate about what role the court should play in custody cases during the COVID-19 pandemic on the "I Want To Put a Baby In You" podcast.

Custody and COVID-19: Three Guidelines to Follow

Divorce Magazine published an article by Eric I. Wrubel, Chair of the WBNY Matrimonial Department, on guidelines for addressing custody issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legalization of Paid Surrogacy Will Benefit Many in New York

Gotham Gazette, a publication that covers New York policy and government, ran an Opinion piece by Eric I. Wrubel, Chair of WBNY's Matrimonial Department, on the legalization of gestational surrogacy which was passed as part of the New York State Executive Budget.

Alexis Cirel Interviewed in Surrogacy Article "New York Wants To Legalize Surrogacy. There Are A Lot Of Moving Parts."

Alexis Cirel was interviewed for a Romper.com article "New York Wants To Legalize Surrogacy. There Are A Lot Of Moving Parts." After trying to conceive through nine cycles of IVF, unsuccessfully, Alexis Cirel’s doctor suggested she and her husband take a different route: a gestational surrogate. “It was a hard decision and it took months of introspection,” says Cirel, an attorney in New York City.

Alexis Cirel Quoted in "Keeping the House Post-Divorce Has Gotten More Affordable"

The question of whether to keep or sell the family home after divorce is tricky. You've got to set your emotions aside and do the math. Lately, that math has been a little more favorable for those who'd like to stay. Here's why.

Alexis Cirel is Quoted in Governor Cuomo's "Love Makes a Family" Campaign Announcement

Alexis Cirel, New York Women's Bar Association, said, "It is almost impossible to believe that women with fertility issues must travel out-of-state to have a child through surrogacy. Surrogacy is a safe and regulated practice in many states that allows couples who cannot conceive on their own to bring a child into this world and start a family of their own. I support the Governor's proposal to help countless families by legalizing surrogacy in New York, and I thank him for not giving up on this important fight."

Eric Wrubel named to the Best Lawyers® list for New York

Best Lawyers® is regarded as one of the leading attorney ratings guides nationwide. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation.

Embryo Mix-Up Case

In a landmark case involving an unintended surrogacy, Partner Eric Wrubel, Matrimonial and Family Law Department chair at WBNY, was successful in providing the legal basis for the genetic parents to be declared the legal parents of children carried and born of another couple.

Alexis Cirel Authors New York Law Journal Article "The Child-Parent Security Act: Granting New Yorkers The Right to Benefit From Assisted Reproductive Technologies"

The proposed Child-Parent Security Act would finally allow New Yorkers the opportunity to exercise the same reproductive rights and family building opportunities that are endowed to the citizens of 48 other states. By Alexis L. Cirel

The Hierarchy of Parentage: The Evolving Concept of Family in New York

Eric Wrubel's bylined article appeared in The New York Law Journal on June 19, 2018.

May I Have Another Parent, Please? And Another, and Another...

In an article featured in Advocate.com, Eric Wrubel, chair of the Matrimonial and Family Group, addresses the different of permutations of parenthood for children of married, same-sex parents.

Eric Wrubel selected by the New York Law Journal as a finalist for its first Attorney of the Year award

The award is part of the New York Law Journal’s Professional Excellence Awards recognition event that will be held later this year on October 17.

Eric Wrubel among just three Attorney of the Year Finalists

Our partner, Eric Wrubel, has been selected by the New York Law Journal as a finalist for its first Attorney of the Year award. The award is part of the New York Law Journal’s Professional Excellence Awards recognition event that will be held later this year on October 17.

Finding the Balance in Tri-Parenting Agreements

Our partner, Eric Wrubel, was quoted in a July 21, 2017 article in Super Lawyers Magazine entitled: Finding the Balance in Tri-Parenting Agreements. The article explores the change in family structure and the shift from the definition of parent as biological or adoptive, to a multi-parenting arrangement where three people (or more) are granted parental status. Mr. Wrubel opined that parties entering into such arrangements do themselves a disservice not consulting with experienced counsel who can help them navigate the potential issues that may arise from such situations as a child becomes older. Click here to read the article in its entirety.

In a Landmark Victory Achieved by Warshaw Burstein Attorneys, New York's Highest Court Expands the Definition of “Parent” – Custody and Visitation No Longer Based Solely on Biology or Adoption

We announce the news of a recent landmark victory achieved by the Firm in a parental rights case in the New York Court of Appeals. The case involved a dispute between two former same-sex partners. The biological mother had severed the access rights of the second, non-biological mother to the child who was conceived and raised during their relationship, and who carries the last name of the non-biological mother.

Our partner, Eric Wrubel, appeared before New York's highest court on June 2, 2016 to challenge New York's legal definition of parent.

Mr. Wrubel was interviewed by Reuters about his argument that the law should be changed. Click here to read the text of the interview.

The Parent Paradox in a Post-Obergefell World - by Eric I. Wrubel and Linda Genero Sklaren

Before Obergefell v. Hodges—and even before individual states considered acknowledging the right of gays and lesbians to marry—same-sex couples were creating their own families. In some states, including New York, both members of a gay or lesbian couple could legally adopt the children they raised, even if neither was the biological parent.

New York custody cases involving gay marriage, surrogacy and IVF

Partner Eric Wrubel, who focuses on matrimonial and child custody issues concerning same-sex couples and the head of the New York State Bar Association's LGBT Committee, was quoted in an August 30, 2015 article in the New York Post on New York custody cases involving gay marriage, surrogacy and IVF.

Eric Wrubel quoted in a New York Law Journal article, "Same-Sex Marriage Wins in Historic Supreme Court Ruling"

Partner Eric Wrubel was quoted in an article, entitled "Same-Sex Marriage Wins in Historic Supreme Court Ruling," published in the New York Law Journal on June 29, 2015. Eric is the Chair of the New York State Bar Association Committee on LGBT People and the Law.

Intersection of Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Divorce

Is My Child Mine? Parentage for Same-Gender Married Couples

by Eric Wrubel and Alex R. Goldberg

Notwithstanding the U.S. Supreme Court's Windsor decision and New York State's passage of the Marriage Equality Act, same-gender married couples with children in New York face daunting challenges when their marriages end. In the absence of a statute permitting a de facto parent from seeking custody and visitation rights, courts are being forced to terminate parent-child relationships in direct contravention of the best interests of those children.

Eric Wrubel authors New York Law Journal article, "The Gay Divorcee: New York Will Have Many. Now What?"