Biography

Cynthia E. Fruchtman has practiced as an attorney in California since 1986.  Ms. Fruchtman is rated A-V by Martindale Hubbell, a testament to the fact that other lawyers and judges rank Ms. Fruchtman at the highest possible level of professional excellence, ability and ethics.

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One of Ms. Fruchtman's key practice areas is Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) law, representing gamete (sperm or egg) and embryo donors, surrogates, recipients, intended parents, agencies and medical practices in all aspects of ART, including donation and surrogacy agreements, pre-birth judgments and posthumous reproduction contracts.  Ms. Fruchtman's law practice also includes civil litigation and employment law, which has been useful to donors and recipients who require assistance with issues such as leaves of absence, job retention, and benefits.

A former cytogeneticist, Ms. Fruchtman has a firm grounding in the need for clear and explicit agreements and for maintaining active communication and building trust and rapport in the relationships between and among the parties.  She works collaboratively with the other professionals to ensure the safe, orderly and timely transitions required for creating families using ART.

Ms. Fruchtman has written and spoken extensively at many legal and medical conferences on ART-related issues.  Ms. Fruchtman is the reviewer of the 2009 parentage chapter of Practice Under the California Family Code and the author of many ART related articles, including “Coping With Leave Laws”, "The Facts of Life: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Child Care Leave Laws for Litigators", “Genetic Testing in Assisted Reproduction", “Considerations in Surrogacy Contracts”, and “Ethical Aspects of Genetic Testing".

Ms. Fruchtman has also worked with the California legislature regarding pending regulation in this area, both individually and as a member of the Academy of California Adoption Attorneys/Academy of California Family Formation Lawyers (ACAL/ACFFL) and of various bioethics committees on which she serves, including the Joint Bioethics Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association/Los Angeles County Medical Association as well as the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s bioethics committee, which she co-chaired. 

Ms. Fruchtman is an active member of the American Bar Association (ABA), particularly the ABA’s Family Law Section's Committee on Reproductive & Genetic Technology, and is a frequent speaker at various ABA functions.  She is also a member of the California Bar Association and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and its Legal Professionals Group. 

Ms. Fruchtman is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court Bar, all courts in the State of California, and the Federal District Court of Arizona.  Ms. Fruchtman has also been admitted to practice before the courts of many other states on a case-by-case basis.

Biography

Dr. Shapiro went to medical school at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and it was during this training that Dr. Shapiro first became interested in reproductive medicine. Dr. Shapiro completed fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine in 1995.

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Dr. Shapiro is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility. He is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists. He has authored and/or co-authored over 50 scientific papers.

Biography

Dr. Whitesides completed his medical degree, residency and fellowship at Duke University. He specializes in pre-pregnancy planning, infertility, recurrent pregnancy loss, endometriosis, pelvic pain, advanced operative laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.

Biography

Dr. Daniel A. Potter graduated from the University of Southern California with both a B.S. in 1987 and M.D. in 1991. He completed his residency at LAC/USC Women’s Hospital in 1995 and fellowship at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in 1997. Dr. Potter is Board Certified in both Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility and Obstetrics/Gynecology.

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