Louisa Ghevaert

Louisa Ghevaert is the UK's preeminent expert in fertility and family law. Her pioneering legal practice has won multiple changes and improvements to law, marking her out as influential at a law and policy making level.

Louisa Ghevaert is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. She  is CEO and Founder of Louisa Ghevaert Associates, providing global family formation, specialist UK and international fertility and family law services, advisory and consultancy. Her legal, advisory and policy expertise transcends the fertility, medical, family and governance sectors in the UK and worldwide, with special interests in assisted reproduction, fertility, genomics and health.

Contact Louisa by email louisa@louisaghevaertassociates.co.uk

or by telephone +44 (0)20 7965 8399.

Legal Practice

Louisa’s specialist legal expertise encompasses: preconception and family building, fertility treatment law, donor conception, international and UK surrogacy, posthumous conception, co-parenting and known donor arrangements, adoption, legal parentage and parental responsibility, complex assisted reproduction disputes, children and family law disputes, international family law and expert witness fertility, surrogacy and donor conception law services to support or defend claims within medical negligence proceedings.

Louisa’s legal practice spans more than two decades following her qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales in September 2000. It includes complex fertility and family law litigation with an international element, legal status and protection of parents/children and families, parental rights for birth and non-birth parents, arrangements for the care and upbringing of children, complex family/children and assisted reproduction disputes, cases with a genetic aspect (including DNA testing) and management of legal issues surrounding fertility preservation/treatment and posthumous conception.

Since 2008, Louisa has handled many well-known and landmark fertility and family law cases in the English Family Court, helping to shape and improve family, fertility and genomic law, policy and practice in the UK for fertility patients, parents, children and modern families.

VIEW OUR WELL KNOWN CASES

Surrogacy Law

Louisa has litigated numerous landmark and leading surrogacy cases in the English High Court, many of which have addressed novel and unusual issues, complex public policy issues and encompassed surrogate pregnancies and jurisdictions from around the world (including the Ukraine, the USA, India and Denmark).

In 2022, Louisa obtained parental orders in the English High Court Family Division for 3 surrogate born children. This followed the collapse of a US surrogacy agency, threatened deportation of the children by the Danish Authorities and complex international conflicts of law between the US (California & Oregon), Denmark and the UK which created serious difficulties concerning the children’s legal parentage, citizenship and residence arrangements in Re X,Y and Z (Children: Parental Orders: Time Limit) [2022] EWHC 198 (Fam).

From 2018 to 2020, Louisa’s expert surrogacy, donor conception and fertility treatment law evidence in the English Court of Appeal and the UK Supreme Court resulted in further legal rulings for a woman left infertile following a delay in detecting cervical cancer, enabling for the first time recovery of damages totalling £580,000 for commercial surrogacy, donor conception and fertility treatment in the US, XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 2832 and Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14. These cases led to media coverage in The Telegraph (19 December 2018), The Mail Online (27 January 2019), The Mirror (27 January 2019), The Times (29 January 2019) and The Guardian 1 April 2020.

In 2018, Louisa successfully represented an intended mother in an international surrogacy and blended family law dispute concerning 2 children born following an Indian surrogacy arrangement where no parental order was ever made. The legal ruling represented a legal first in determining the legal treatment of blended families in the UK following surrogacy, divorce, re-marriage, serious allegations of domestic violence, as well as the legal status and identity of two surrogate born children, their biological, intended and social parents and arrangements for the children’s care and upbringing in AB v CD, EF, GH & IL [2018] EWHC 1590 (Fam).

In 2017, Louisa’s gave expert evidence on surrogacy law in the English High Court, resulting in a legal first when the claimant woman was awarded £74,000 for UK surrogacy following delays in diagnosing cervical cancer in XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2017] EWHC 2318 (QB).

In 2014, Louisa represented the intended biological father in a complex UK surrogacy dispute with his wife and their surrogate in JP v LP & Ors [2014] EWHC 595 (Fam). The legal ruling warned of the risks of informal privately arranged surrogacy and established a legal pathway where criteria for a parental order cannot be met following marital breakdown. The case led to media coverage by The Telegraph (6 March 2014) and the BBC News (6 March 2014).

In 2013, Louisa successfully obtained a parental order for British intended parents who had a surrogate born child following a Californian (USA) commercial surrogacy arrangement.

In 2011, Louisa Ghevaert successfully obtained a parental order for British parents whose surrogate born child was born stateless and parentless in the Ukraine in Re IJ (a Child) [2011] EWHC 921. The case led to media coverage by the BBC (19.5.11) and The Mail Online (19.5.11).

In 2010, Louisa obtained a parental order for British intended parents who conceived a child with a US surrogate in Illinois in Re L (a minor) [2010] EWHC 3146 (Fam). It generated national media coverage as a landmark judgment on surrogacy, fuelling debate about commercial payments, public policy, welfare of children and family life, including The Telegraph (8 and 11 December 2010), The Mail Online (9 December 2010) and The Observer (12 December 2010).

In 2008, Louisa secured parental orders for British intended parents in the first UK case for overseas surrogacy in the Ukraine, Re X and Y (Foreign Surrogacy) EWHC 3030 (Fam).

Fertility Treatment & Donor Conception Law

Louisa has provided expert legal representation in well-known fertility treatment and donor conception law cases in the UK.

In 2016, Louisa obtained a declaration of parentage in the English High Court Family Division for a woman who had conceived a child with her same-sex partner through fertility treatment with donor sperm following a missing HFEA Consent Form WP on the UK fertility clinic file, In the matter of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (Case V) [2016] EWHC 2356 (Fam). The legal ruling also provided guidance for the first time on costs orders in favour of patients following errors with consent forms at UK fertility clinics.

In 2012, Louisa represented Andrea Heywood aged 24 who was refused NHS funding for IVF treatment by her local hospital authority for being too young, resulting in media coverage in The Independent (4 June 2012), The Mail Online (4 June 2012) and the BMJ (11 June 2012).

In 2011, Louisa acted for Donna and Dean Marshall and won a rare legal battle for NHS funding for IVF treatment, leading to media coverage in The Telegraph on 20 December 2011.

In 2009, Louisa helped a British couple save their frozen embryos from destruction and won a last minute change to embryo storage law in the UK for use in fertility treatment with surrogacy. This led to media coverage by The BBC (8 September 2009), The Telegraph (9 September 2009) and The Times (10 September 2009).

Posthumous Conception Law

In the highly complex, specialist and evolving area of posthumous conception, Louisa’s expert work has secured landmark legal rulings in both the Court of Protection and the English High Court:

In 2024, Louisa represented a mother in a contested posthumous conception case which addressed legal and factual issues which had not come before the English Court before in G v Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority & Anor [2024]EWHC 2453 (Fam). This case ruled that due to a lack of explicit written consent by the deceased daughter, her mother could not posthumously store or use her frozen eggs in fertility treatment with donor conception and surrogacy. Importantly, however, the English High Court ruled for the first time that it is legally permissible in England and Wales for a relative, such as a mother, to use a deceased’s frozen gametes (eggs or sperm) after their death in fertility treatment with surrogacy provided the deceased person has given written consent on a prescribed form.

In 2018, Louisa assisted a wife in securing a first-of-its-kind legal ruling from the Court of Protection to extract and store her husband’s sperm for posthumous fertility treatment following his fatal injury in a motor traffic accident in Y v A Healthcare NHS Trust & The HFEA & Z (by his litigation friend, The Official Solicitor) [2018] EWCOP 18. The case secured media coverage in The Independent (13 July 2018), The Mail Online (13 July 2018) and The Times (14 July 2018).

Complex Family & Children Law
Parentage, Birth Registration, Family Life

Louisa’s specialist legal expertise has secured important legal rulings in the English High Court Family Division and the Administrative Court and developed case law concerning legal parentage, birth registration, upbringing of children and family life in England and Wales.

In 2024 – 2025, Louisa litigated complex legal proceedings in both the English High Court Family Division and the Administrative Court following serious legal difficulties encountered by a transgender man with a Gender Recognition Certificate in achieving legal parentage and birth registration for two donor conceived children in England and Wales in FZ v MZ & FZ v Y Council [2025] EWHC 3338 (Fam). The case tested the law for the first time on whether he could be lawfully registered as father on his second child’s birth certificate following his wife’s privately arranged artificial conception with donor sperm outside of a licensed UK fertility clinic. It also necessitated Judicial Review proceedings for a quashing order to quash his incorrect registration on his first child’s birth certificate. The case resulted in a step-parent adoption order and a legal ruling highlighting a lacuna in the statutory regime governing legal parenthood for transgender individuals in cases involving assisted reproduction.

In 2022, Louisa successfully obtained a Declaration of Parentage in the English High Court Family Division for a woman following a direct-to-consumer ancestry DNA test and a 35-year quest to find her biological father, resolve her personal identity and paternity and enable the re-registration of her birth certificate to record her father’s name in X v Y [2022] EWFC 77. The legal ruling highlighted the fundamental importance of identity, status and parentage and the re-registration of birth certificates to provide properly maintained records for individuals and the public benefit. The case navigated complex legal issues and drew inferences from the birth father’s refusal to undergo DNA testing and unwillingness to engage in any sort of social relationship with the applicant woman.

In 2018, Louisa represented an intended mother in the English High Court Family Division in a complex blended family and children law dispute where no application for a parental order was ever made. The legal ruling represented a legal first in determining the legal treatment of blended families in the UK following surrogacy, divorce, re-marriage, serious allegations of domestic violence and abuse as well as the legal status and identity of two surrogate born children, their biological, intended and social parents and arrangements for the children’s care and upbringing, AB v CD, EF, GH & IL [2018] EWHC 1590 (Fam). The legal ruling made the children wards of court, made a child arrangements order in favour of the biological mother and her husband, ordered no contact between the biological father and the children, gave permission for the biological father to withdraw his application for a child arrangements order, dismissed biological father’s application for a parental responsibility order and restricted the parental responsibility of the surrogate and her husband.

Media

Louisa Ghevaert is widely recognised as a UK expert in fertility, surrogacy, donor conception, posthumous conception and family law.

“The fertility lawyer and leading surrogacy expert”

“Leading expert in UK fertility law”

“Leading UK surrogacy lawyer and family lawyer”

“Leading UK fertility and family law expert”

Media Commentary

Louisa is often called upon to provide expert commentary in the media in the UK and worldwide (including television, radio and newspapers) on global family formation, fertility and assisted reproduction, genomics, children and family law issues. Her expert media work encompasses the whole life cycle including fertility and preconception, family formation, children and parenting and death.

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Professional Memberships

Louisa is a recognised legal expert in the field of fertility and family law in England and Wales. She holds membership of leading UK and international professional and fertility sector organisations including:

Expert Member of the International Egg Donation Stakeholder Advisory Group led by De Montfort University, Leicester (2017 – 2022).

Expert Member of the Advisory Board for the International Expanded Carrier Screening Research Project led by De Montfort University, Leicester (2023 – to date).

ART Fellow of the American Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA).

ART Fellow of the American Bar Association (ABA).

Member of Resolution (organisation for family justice professionals in England and Wales).

Law & Policy

Since 2008, Louisa has practiced at a law, policy and advisory level in the UK and internationally encompassing fertility and family law, as well as specialist interests in assisted reproduction, health and genomics.

For more information about Louisa Ghevaert’s law and policy work click below.

Law & Policy Timeline

Specialist Advisory and Consultancy Expertise

Louisa’s pioneering specialist legal practice has helped change and improve fertility and modern family law in the UK and create new legal solutions for fertility patients, parents, children and families.

For more information about Louisa Ghevaert’s specialist advisory and consultancy expertise click below.

Specialist Advisory Consultancy Expertise

The Lawyer Hot 100 List

Louisa was awarded a place on The Lawyer Hot 100 List 2018 for her groundbreaking legal work across the family, fertility and medical sectors, which recognised her ‘as influential at a law and policy making level’. The Lawyer Hot 100 List “celebrates the UK’s top lawyers: the ones acting on the most significant matters, disrupting the industry with their creative flair. It tracks exceptional individuals from private practice, in-house and the Bar”.

Louisa’s inclusion on The Lawyer Hot 100 List 2018 recognised her legal work in 2008 winning the first case for overseas surrogacy, Re X & Y (Foreign Surrogacy) EWHC 3030 (Fam), co-founding the UK’s first fertility law firm in 2009 and her continuing work on milestone cases. In particular, it recognised Louisa’s expert legal evidence on surrogacy law in 2017 in XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2017] EWHC 2318 (QB), resulting in a legal first when the English High Court awarded a woman £74,000 for UK surrogacy following a delay in diagnosing cervical cancer in smear tests and biopsies. For the first time, this cleared the path for others who had encountered medical negligence and compromised fertility to claim compensation for fertility treatment and surrogacy

Louisa’s further expert legal evidence on surrogacy in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court from 2018 – 2020 resulted in further landmark legal rulings for a woman left infertile following a delay in identifying cervical cancer in smear tests and biopsies. For the first time, this enabled a damages award totalling £580,000.00 for commercial surrogacy, donor conception and fertility treatment in the US in XX v Whittington Hospital NHS Trust [2018] EWCA Civ 2832 and Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14. These rulings generated national media coverage in The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Mail Online and The Mirror.

Advisory & Public Impact

Since 2008, Louisa has worked with a diverse range of influential organisations in the UK and internationally encompassing political strategy, ethics, law reform, policy and research centres, healthcare business intelligence providers, national and international academia, not-for-profit and professional groups. Her expert law, policy and advisory work has encompassed a range of issues including gamete and embryo storage, surrogacy in the UK and internationally, donor conception, egg donation practices in the UK and Europe, fertility treatment, family formation, genomics and horizon scanning. This includes:

Invited participant at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics expert multi-disciplinary workshop “Epigenetics in Human Reproduction” on 11 March 2025 which explored: use and implications of epigenetics in human reproduction, inter-relationships between the reproductive environment, the epigenome, long-term health and assisted reproductive technologies.
Expert lecturer on surrogacy law for the annual British Fertility Society’s Study Week Modern Families Day.
Member of the Advisory Board for the International Expanded Carrier Screening Research Project led by De Montfort University, Leicester (2023 – to date) entitled “Reproduction in the age of genomic medicine: the emergence , commercialisation and implications of preconception expanded carrier screening (ECS)”.
Participant in the Expert UK Surrogacy Consultation in London to help develop international Principles for the protection of the rights of the child in the context of surrogacy organised by Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB), British Association of Social Workers (BASW), the BASW Project Group on Assisted Reproduction (PROGRAR) and International Social Service (ISS) on 13 -14 September 2019.
Expert speaker at LaingBuisson’s Fertility Forum 2019 in London and delivered a lecture on the future legal and regulatory landscape for fertility treatment in the context of the genomics revolution on 1 November 2019.

Member of the international Egg Donation Stakeholder Advisory Group led by De Montfort University entitled “Egg Donation in the UK, Belgium and Spain: an Interdisciplinary Study” (EDNA) 2017 – 2022.
Member of the stakeholders’ UK Parliamentary strategy group concerned with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 and its associated regulations.
Member of the SUK Working Party on Surrogacy Law Reform 2014-2018 and contributor to the report on surrogacy in the UK “Myth busting and reform” (2015).
Provided expert evidence to The Hague on UK and international surrogacy law and policy in 2013.
Provided expert evidence to The Nuffield Council on donor conception law and policy in 2012.
Expert adviser to the UK HFEA’s Ethics and Law Advisory Committee, providing detailed legal comment to the Department of Health’s 2009 consultation on proposed draft surrogacy regulations, which won changes to the law on nationality in international surrogacy cases.

Publications

Louisa Ghevaert is a widely published author and contributor on fertility, surrogacy, donor conception, posthumous conception and modern family law issues in leading journals, magazines, reports and books. She is:

A specialist contributor on surrogacy law in practitioner reference book The International Family Law Practice (Sixth Edition 2021, Family Law). “In short, The International Family Law Practice continues to be an indispensable part of the practicing family lawyer’s library and an equally useful work of reference for the judiciary and the academic community”, Nigel Lowe, Emeritus Professor of Law, Cardiff University and Consultant to Number Fourteen of Gray’s Inn Square” (June 2021).

A co-author of medical reference book Reducing Risk in Fertility Treatment (First Edition, April 2015). This is an essential resource for fertility clinicians, embryologists, nurses, counsellors and administrators. Louisa’s specialist chapter entitled “Legal and Regulatory Risks to Patients: The UK Context” addresses legal and regulatory pitfalls faced by fertility patients seeking various forms of fertility treatment in the UK.

Expert contributor to the SUK Working Party  on Surrogacy Law Reform landmark benchmarking report on surrogacy in the  UK “Myth busting and reform” (2015).

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