With her law office in the Denver metro area, Judith has represented clients in Assisted Reproductive Technology law and the complex issues related to family formation since 2010. Caring for infants, children and their parents has been the focus of her dual professional careers. Prior to and while attending law school Judith worked as a Pediatric ICU nurse, a Pediatric and Adolescent Oncology nurse, and a Level IV NICU nurse at several children’s hospitals. For many years she continued to work on weekends in a Level IV NICU while maintaining a busy law practice.
Having experienced infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, Judith was able to have a family through assisted reproduction. She changed the focus of her law practice from medical negligence and massive tort litigation to Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and Family Formation Law. With empathy and insight into the formidable issues of loss and emotional pain those struggling with infertility face, Judith feels passionate about representing her clients and advocating on their behalf. She has worked with ART colleagues, RESOLVE and Colorado state representatives and senators drafting and passing ART legislation in Colorado since 2019 including The Colorado Building Families Act which requires large market insurers controlled by the state of Colorado to cover fertility treatment and fertility preservation; the Unconsented Use of Donor Gametes in Fertility Treatment; and most recently, the Confirmatory Adoption Statute affirming parentage by adoption for married individuals or those in civil unions, often same-sex, who do not give birth but intend to be a parent when a child is conceived by assisted reproduction. Judith initiated and co-drafted the Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act signed into law by Governor Polis in 2021 putting protections in place for all parties to surrogacy agreements including protecting parentage in gestational and genetic surrogacy arrangements. Infertility compelled Judith to serve those who need assisted reproduction or adoption to have a family.
Associations. Affiliations, Legislative Work
• American Bar Association
o Family Law Section: (member)
o FLS Council Member (Region V) (two 3-year terms 2017-2023)
o FLS Nominating Committee Member (2020-2021)
o FLS ART Committee:
? Member (2011 – present)
? Vice-Chair (2022-2023)
? CLE Liaison to FLS (2013-2021)
? Senior CLE Producer (2013 – present)
? Executive Council Member (2012- present)
? Legislative Sub-Committee Member; (current)
? Judiciary Sub-Committee Member (current)
? Drafting Committee Member, Model Act Governing Assisted Reproduction (2019)
? Drafting Committee Member, Model Act Governing Embryo Disposition and Donation (2022,
current)
• Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (Fellow)
o ART CLE Planning Committee (2022, current)
o Leadership Development Task Force Committee work (2020-2021)
• ASRM Legal Professional Group (member)
o Chair Elect (2022)
o Secretary (2019)
• RESOLVE (member)
o Board Member (2022-2023)
• SEEDS (member)
o Secretary 2021-2022
• Colorado Fertility Advocates (member from inception 2019-present)
o Chair 2021
o Secretary 2019-2021
• Colorado Bar Association (member)
o Colorado Women's Bar Association (member)
o Health Care Law Committee (member)
• Legislative Drafting:
o Colorado Surrogacy Agreement Act C.R.S. §19-4.5-101 et seq., co-drafted with colleague Laura Koupal, signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis, May 6, 2021.
• Legislative work, bill revisions:
o House Bill 20-1158 Colorado Building Families Act (2019-2020) signed by Gov. Jared Polis April 1, 2020.
o House Bill 20-1014 Concerning Unconsented Use of Donor Gametes in Fertility Treatment signed into law by Governor Jared Polis July 6, 2020.
o House Bill 22-1153 Confirmatory Adoption Statute/Marlo’s Law signed into law by Governor Polis May 23, 2022.
• Registered Nurse Clinician, RNC, NIC (Neonatal Intensive Care)