Jade is an associate in the children team with expertise in fertility law.  

She advises clients on a broad range of domestic and international children law issues including child arrangements, known donor/co-parenting, legal parenthood and relocation disputes. She is particularly experienced in advising non-traditional and LGBTQ+ families and often appears before the High Court in complex cases.

Jade also advises transgender clients on a variety of matters ranging from applications for Gender Recognition Certificates to family law issues such as legal parenthood and child arrangement disputes. She has represented transgender parents and parents of transgender children in complex court proceedings.

She has spoken at many events on issues relating to children, fertility and surrogacy law. She has also written articles and blogs covering topics such as adoption, co-parenting arrangements, surrogacy and fertility issues for legal publications. 

Jade qualified as a solicitor in 2013 and joined Russell-Cooke in July 2021. She adopts a strategic and sensitive approach to all of her work and strives to work with her clients to resolve matters in a constructive and cost efficient way.

Experience

Following her training at a niche fertility law firm, Jade also has extensive experience advising clients in relation to their family building plans whether through surrogacy, assisted reproduction or adoption. Her experience includes:

Surrogacy – Advising parents and surrogates embarking on surrogacy arrangements both in the UK and overseas, ranging from straightforward family arrangements to more complex cases where there are issues relating to domicile, crossing borders and consent. Jade often works with international and immigration lawyers and has represented many clients on court applications for parental orders, regularly conducting her own advocacy.

Co-parenting and known donor arrangements – Advising clients on a wide range of arrangements and on issues such as legal parenthood, parental responsibility and what happens if things go wrong. Jade works with clients to ensure they are fully informed of the legal issues associated with their plans and has drafted several co-parenting and known donor agreements.

Adoption – Representing clients in step-parent adoption proceedings, including LGBTQ+ parents and parents not legally recognised if their child was conceived through assisted reproduction. Jade is also experienced in inter-country adoption cases and has been involved in cases representing British ex-pats living overseas who wish to secure domestic adoption orders in situations where their overseas adoption is not legally recognised in the UK.

Assisted Reproduction – Advising clients working with fertility clinics and guiding them through issues such as importation and exportation of gametes and embryos. Jade also advises clients in relation to the legal storage periods for eggs, sperm and embryos and their rights regarding the use of stored gametes and embryos.  

Recognition and memberships
  • Member of Resolution, an organisation of family lawyers focused on achieving family and child focused resolution to disputes
  • Sits on the London YResolution committee
  • Member of the ALC (Association of Lawyers for Children) 
  • Volunteer family law advisor for Rights of Women
  • Member of the UK and Ireland LGBT Family Law Institute, an association of leading barristers and solicitors who work in the specialist area of LGBTQ+ Family Law.
Insight

Briefings

22/10/2021 Adoption – a legal solution for many families

Briefings

17/09/2021 Court of Appeal reverses controversial High Court ruling on puberty blocking treatment

In the press

26/08/2021 So, You Want Some Donor Sperm… - Refinery29

Briefings

05/08/2021 Surrogacy: some common myths