The Alabama IVF Decision and the "Personhood" Movement: Legal Implications Across Practice Areas

Debra E. Guston is a partner in the law firm of Guston & Guston, L.L.P

Deb believes that every client deserves a careful review of their matter, detailed communication of the law affecting the matter, and a creative and sensitive approach to try to resolve all matters. Whether Deb is representing clients, teaching law students in her role as Visiting Lecturer at Rutgers School of Law or lecturing to her peers on topics of adoption, assisted reproduction or LGBT issues, Deb’s passion for her practice and her clients always takes center stage.

Deb has been recognized by the New Jersey State Bar Association for her legislative work on behalf of the Bar, most notably lobbying for the passage of New Jersey’s Gestational Carrier Act, laws that extend insurance coverage for fertility treatment, and New Jersey’s new Confirmatory Adoption statute. She has also received the Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education for her years of volunteer service educating her peers. Among other recognitions Deb has received are the E. Nathaniel Gates Award from the Cardozo School of Law, recognizing her work in LGBT Family Law, and the Diversity in the Profession Award from the Bergen County Bar Association. Deb is the 2022 Saul Tischler Awardee, recognizing her years of service to the Family Law Section of the NJ State Bar Association and her contribution to family law in New Jersey. 

Deb has served the legal community as a member of the NJ State Bar’s Family Law Section’s Family Law Executive Committee since 2007 and has served as its Adoption and Reproductive Rights Sub-Committee Chair. She is a Past Chair of the NJ State Bar’s LGBT Rights Section and a current Trustee. Deb is a Past President of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, the leading international, credentialed organization of family formation attorneys and currently serves as its Adoption Director, guiding the Academy’s adoption policy and advocacy.

Deb also serves in two New Jersey Supreme Court-appointed positions.  She is a member of the Family Practice Committee and Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness.

A community activist as well, Deb is a Past President of the Board of Trustees of ACLU-NJ (2015-2018) and a current Trustee and the current Chair of the Bergen County LGBTQ Advisory Committee, having been appointed by the Board of County Commissioners.

Deb resides in Teaneck with her spouse, Pat, and adopted dog, Sam

Denise E. Seidelman, Esq. is a Partner in the firm of Rumbold & Seidelman, LLP and has been practicing exclusively in the areas of adoption and reproductive law since 1996. Denise is a member of the leading organizations in the adoption and reproductive law fields including: The Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction (AAAA), where she was a Trustee of the Board from 2016-2020. She is also on the Board of the New York Academy for Adoption and Assisted Reproduction (NYAAFF) and on the Emeritus Board of the Family Equality Council.

Denise is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Washington College of Law. She is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey and also admitted to practice before the Federal District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Denise assisted in drafting Child Parent Security Act, which updates New York State parentage law to provide legal security for children born through Third Party Reproduction. She has lectured on Adoption Law and Reproductive Law as a member of the faculties of the ABA Family Law Section, Practicing Law Institute, the New York Judicial Institute, the Center For Adoption Policy, and the New York City Bar Center for Continuing Legal Education.