Lippman, Semsker & Salb warned many clients away from Nieman’s offers.
In August 2011, Rockville lawyer Hilary Neiman pled guilty to committing wire fraud in a case related to a baby-selling ring.
Prosecutors said that between 2005 and 2011 Neiman and California lawyer Theresa Erickson sent women to Ukraine to be implanted with embryos. Neiman then would offer the babies to aspiring parents for more than $100,000 each, telling prospective buyers that a previous — and lawful — surrogacy arrangement had fallen apart.
Lippman, Semsker & Salb lawyers recognized that a surrogacy in which the carriers and intended parents do not have an agreement in place before any embryonic transfer is completed runs afoul not only of law but of basic princoples underlying surrogacy jurisprudence. Our lawyers warned several clients to decline Nieman’s offers.
Surrogacy law remains in flux. It is a relatively new area of law and so the law continues to grow and change. For thoughtful, sane — and legal — advice on your surrogacy, turn to Lippman, Semsker & Salb.