Forming a Family and Assisted Reproduction

When you’re looking to start a family, it’s important to have the legal advice you need on hand when you need it – whichever route you choose. Our family law team work with you to look after your interests and those of your family from the beginning .

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Families we work with

We act for people from all walks of life, whether different sex couples trying to conceive through IVF to same sex couples starting a family with assisted reproduction.

We’ll be with you throughout the process to provide advice, guidance and understanding when you need it most.

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Legal advice that supports you throughout

Our extensive team has many years of experience. You can trust us to assist you with your most important asset – your family. We’ll be committed to achieving the best outcome for you while respecting your decisions. We provide advice on:

Surrogacy is becoming an increasingly popular option for those requiring assistance to have a child both in the UK and abroad. However, there are many legal pitfalls that intended parents and surrogates are often not aware of that may create unintended legal outcomes.

Getting legal support from our specialist lawyers at the start of your surrogacy journey will alleviate this risk. We will guide you through the process from pre-conception, birth registration, parental responsibility, and finally applying to the court for a parental order to transfer parentage.

We can provide specialist advice to ensure you understand who the legal parents are and steps that need to be taken at the pre-conception stage to achieve your desired legal outcome.

If you are planning to co-parent or start a family with a known donor, we can advise and draft a bespoke co-parenting or donor agreement to suit your circumstances and requirements. While such agreements are not legally binding, they serve as a clear record of your intentions, which a court may take into consideration in the event of a later dispute. Having an agreement is particularly important if you intend to co-parent with another individual or couple to ensure that your expectations align.

Adoption is the process that permanently severs the legal relationship between a child and their birth parents and reassigns it to the child’s adoptive parent(s), providing all the same rights and responsibilities. You may be a stepparent, have had a child through assisted reproduction or had a child placed with you for adoption by an adoption agency or local authority. We can guide you through the adoption process to help you legally secure the future of your family.

There are stringent rules that fertility clinics must adhere to in the UK, as regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. If you are preserving your fertility, we can assist you with any legal issues that you may have as a result of your stored eggs, sperm or embryos.

An often-overlooked issue is what will happen to your stored embryos in the event of a relationship breakdown. We can advise and draft specialist nuptial agreements setting this out to help alleviate a dispute or provide a clear record of your intentions at the time of preserving your fertility.

Sometimes disputes can arise out of surrogacy, co-parenting arrangements or when you have a donor-conceived child. If this should happen, we have the experience to be able to advise you and represent you at court if that should become necessary. This can be extremely stressful, and we’ll do our best to give you peace of mind.

Starting your family with assistance may mean that you and your family do not have automatic inheritance rights. We work closely with our Wills, Trusts and Probate team to ensure your will is tailored to your family’s unique circumstances, to provide the necessary protection and security.

Recognition of our work

Investors in People

Investors in People

Legal 500 2026 – Top Tier Firm

Legal 500 2026 – Top Tier Firm

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Hear what our clients say about us

The feeling knowing I have stability back and can now rebuild mine and my daughter’s future is more than I can describe.

Client testimonial Family law

Richard Scott provides clear, thorough advice and is knowledgeable as to all aspects of family law work.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

I largely dealt with Danielle Bentley, who was the solicitor with conduct of my matter. The difference between her approach and others seems to be a focus on not only the legal requirements of my matter, but also a clear focus on practical consequences of decisions that were made during the case.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

The family department are one of the leading teams in the Thames Valley area. Both Kate Grant and Danielle Bentley are technically brilliant whilst all the time delivering sensible and pragmatic advice for their clients.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Gwenllian Reeves is an associate and is already a brilliant lawyer. She no doubt has a bright future and already has a great reputation in the industry. She combines a friendly and supportive manner with the expertise needed to represent clients to the highest standards.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

James Osborne is a dedicated solicitor who is devastatingly good. I have had multiple cases where both sides of a case have rushed to try and instruct him first.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Andrew Morris is a formidable lawyer who is prepared to give robust advice while still fighting his client’s corner. He works hard to get the best outcomes for clients.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

James Grigg is urbane, practical and very sensible. Carolyn Green is sensible and very experienced. James Shorrock is one of the best juniors in the country.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Christopher Finch took on my divorce case and I remember the first time we met at his office. My first impression was that he was someone I would be able to trust to do a good job for me. By the end of our first meeting, Chris had explained exactly what he would be doing, approximately how long it would take, and what it would cost. At every stage of my divorce, Chris explained in straightforward terms exactly what was happening, and what options I had. He showed great kindness and understanding when I had problems coping with the stress of divorce, something I won’t ever forget.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Harrison Clark Rickerbys took an assertive approach to managing my divorce process and were proactive at every turn. The process was more complicated than expected but, nevertheless, they guided me through the process, putting me in touch with external stakeholders to assist where necessary.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Victoria Fellows is amazing. Superb with clients, incredibly knowledgeable, tactically savvy and exceptional to work with. Hannah Nicholls is wonderful; extremely bright, totally unflappable, and radiates the type of warmth that builds trust with clients effortlessly.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your excellent representation at court. Your professionalism, preparation, and dedication throughout the case were evident, and I truly appreciate the care with which you presented my position.

Client testimonial Family law

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