Understanding surrogacy: the legal landscape
Speakers
Natalie Gamble
Natalie is one of the UK's leading experts in surrogacy, leading UK fertility law firm NGA Law and non-profit surrogacy agency Brilliant Beginnings together with Helen Prosser.
She has helped in the creation of more than a thousand families through surrogacy in the UK and overseas and represented the parents in the UK's first international surrogacy case in 2008.
One of the first voices to campaign for surrogacy law reform, she and her team have been involved in most of the court decisions that have shaped UK surrogacy law. They have been instrumental in winning positive legal changes including maternity leave for surrogacy in 2015 and equal rights for single parents through surrogacy in 2019.
Natalie has been quoted in the Houses of Parliament and invited to meet the prime minister. She is also a regular voice on the BBC and in the national and international media.
Find out more about proposals for surrogacy law reform in the UK, and how you can offer support, at Brilliant Beginnings.
Andrew Spearman
Andrew is a specialist solicitor working at Laytons ETL in the field of legal parenthood, representing clients in the Family Court and High Court on both complex and straightforward surrogacy or transgender parenting matters.
In surrogacy, his experience has focused on the potential difficulties with domicile, reasonable expenses and separated intended parents seeking a parental order.
In transgender matters, he is best known for representing Freddy McConnell in his high-profile court battle on the definition of 'mother' and his child's birth registration.
Andrew is an active member of the LGBT Family Law Institute, the advisory board for My Surrogacy Journey and the Ethics Committee of SurrogacyUK.
Although he advocates for reform, he is passionate about addressing the day-to-day practical realities for those individuals seeking to become parents through surrogacy or fertility treatment.
Ewan Watson
Ewan works as a solicitor in the in-house legal team at Lionsgate, specialising in TV licensing and distribution.
Ewan is an advocate for LGBT+ inclusion.
He has been actively involved in LGBT+ staff networks for many years, is a member of the Law Society's LGBT+ Lawyers Division and served as a committee member from February 2018 until October 2021.
Ewan lives with his husband in North London.
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