Surrogacy / Surrogate, Egg Donation, Sperm Donation Attorneys: Skilled, Confidential Help from National Network of Experienced Lawyers
About Us
International Fertility Law Group, Inc., was founded by Will Halm and Rich Vaughn, attorneys who have specialized exclusively in assisted reproduction and family formation law for over a decade. Will and Rich both became parents themselves by means of assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy and know first hand the joy that assisted reproduction can bring to a family. It was from a desire to help other families like yours all over the world that they founded International Fertility Law Group, specializing in providing expert legal services, every step of the way, in the areas of surrogacy, egg donation, embryo donation, sperm donation, parental establishment, non-traditional family formation, co-parenting and second-parent adoption. Today, Will and Rich are among the world's best known experts in the fields of assisted reproduction law, reproductive law and family formation law.
Our Founding Partners
Willard K. Halm, Esq.
Attorney Will Halm has more than 20 years of legal experience and specializes in assisted reproduction and family formation law. He has helped hundreds of intended parents, surrogates, and egg donors with contracts and parental rights judgments, and has handled numerous cutting-edge cases.
Will and his life partner, Marcellin Simard, were the first same-gender couple in a gestational surrogacy case to ever receive a judgment ordering both their names placed on the birth certificate as parents. Will himself has since helped many intended parents obtain pre-birth parental rights judgments (both paternity and maternity judgments), which allows both members of the couple to have their names placed directly on their child's birth certificate.
Will and Marcellin have been together for more than 16 years and have three children - Malina, Luc, and Harley - who were born through surrogacy and egg donation. The family has been featured in a variety of print and broadcast media, including: 20/20, ABC Evening News, CNN, NPR, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Advocate.
Law License:
Willard K. Halm, SB# 087555
1978 to Present, Active Member, State Bar of California
Degrees:
1978, Juris Doctor, University of California, Berkeley
1974, B.A., University of California, Los Angeles
Professional Affiliations:
American Bar Association
California Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Family Pride Coalition
AIDS Project Los Angeles
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
GLAAD
Phi Beta Kappa
Richard B. Vaughn, Esq.
Attorney
Richard B. Vaughn has combined his legal background with his passion and pride
in forming his own family through surrogacy and egg donation to help form
International Fertility Law Group (IFLG). As an IFLG partner, Rich provides
legal services nationwide and internationally to others who want to build their
families through assisted reproduction.
Rich first studied reproductive and fertility law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law in the early 1990s. Since 1993, practicing in both Chicago and Los Angeles, Rich has assisted innumerable individual, corporate and municipal clients with contract, business, marketing, litigation, and corporate legal needs. He brings this multi-disciplinary experience to his work assisting clients worldwide with family formation through assisted reproduction.
Rich is on the Board of Directors of the American Fertility Association, is an active member of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the ABA’s Family Law Section Committee on Reproductive and Genetic Technology, the California Bar Association (CBA) and its Family Law Section, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and its Legal Professionals Group. In addition, he has lectured at numerous legal and family-building conferences around the U.S. and has been featured as a fertility law expert on National Public Radio (The Diane Rehm Show) and other radio shows, and has guest lectured at California Western School of Law.
Rich's extracurricular pursuits are tied to advocacy for the LGBT community and to the medical, health and wellness industries. He is also an experienced fitness instructor, triathlete, a former paramedic, and board member of a medical device company. Rich and his spouse, Tommy Woelfel, were married in California in 2008 and are the proud parents, through egg donation and surrogacy, of twin boys Aiden & Austin.
Law License:
Richard B. Vaughn:
CA State Bar # 214095
2001 to Present, Active Member, State Bar of California
IL State Bar # 6217167
1993 to Present, Active Member, State Bar of Illinois
Degrees:
1993, Juris Doctor, Loyola University Chicago - School of Law
1990, B.S., Miami University of Ohio
Professional Affiliations:
American Fertility Association
American Society for Reproductive Medicine
American Bar Association
California Bar Association
Los Angeles County Bar Association
Family Equality Council
Of-Counsel Attorneys
International Fertility Law Group is a nationwide law firm, with central offices in Los Angeles. Most legal documents are prepared in our L.A. office in our highly specialized formats, then carefully tailored to fit your family’s situation. However, some fertility law and family formation situations require one or more court appearances or official actions by an attorney licensed in a specific state. For that reason, we formed a nationwide network of experienced of-counsel attorneys. Read more…
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Toni Hughes, Paralegal
After receiving her
Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the University of
Phoenix, Toni joined IFLG with hopes of gaining knowledge in the area of
reproductive law to use as a springboard for pursuing her dream of attending
law school. As a certified Paralegal and Case Manager with IFLG, she manages
Surrogacy and Egg Donation cases. She also is involved in drafting legal
documents for our clients and informed consent documents with our Of Counsel
Attorney, Deb Forman. Besides spending time with her son, Jordan, Toni enjoys
exploring new things, spending time with family and serving as a mentor and
Youth Advisor for "J.O.Y. of Cochran."
Katie Bottum, Paralegal
Katie is a certified
Paralegal and has dedicated more than five years to the areas of surrogacy and
reproductive law. As a Case Manger with IFLG, her job duties include managing
Surrogacy, Egg Donation, Family Planning and Adoption cases. She received
her Paralegal Certificate from Coastline Community College and plans to someday
return to school to obtain a Bachelors degree. Katie truly enjoys helping
others build their families through assisted reproduction and is thankful she
has had the rewarding experience of assisting IFLG clients. Katie often spends
her free time with family, friends and her boyfriend of seven years.
Call or E-Mail Us Today to Schedule A Complimentary Initial Consultation!
Call IFLG toll-free at (855) 405-7500 (U.S.) or at (323) 904-4733 (International), e-mail us at Info@IFLG.net, or click here to contact us to schedule a complimentary initial consultation. Thank you for considering International Family Law Group. We look forward to helping you and your family enjoy a secure, legally protected future.
Toll-Free Telephone: (855) 405-7500