A Legal Foundation For Your Family
Biography
Steven H. Snyder, Esq., is Of Counsel at Steven H. Snyder & Associates, having been the founding and principal partner for over twenty years until his retirement from the law firm in late 2023. Mr. Snyder attended law school at the University of Minnesota, graduating cum laude in 1982. Mr. Snyder successfully litigated the first contested Minnesota surrogacy case in 2006 in which he won sole custody of the child for a single father; this case has been affirmed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Mr. Snyder is a member of the American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Law Practice Management, and Family Law sections), Past Chair of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee of the ABA Family Law Section, a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association (Family Law, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law sections), Past Chair of the Family Law Section, Hennepin County Bar Association, and Wisconsin State Bar Association, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Mr. Snyder also serves as a member of the national advisory committee of RESOLVE: The National Fertility Association, past chair of the legal advisory group for the Path2Parenthood (national non-profit organizations for education, support, and advocacy on behalf of infertile persons), and is a professional member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (national organization of fertility physicians) and its Legal Professionals Group. Mr. Snyder is a frequent national and international speaker on assisted reproductive technology topics and from 2009-2010 was an adjunct professor of assisted reproductive technology law at the Hamline University Law School and at William Mitchell College of Law from 2009 to the present.
Practice Areas
- Assisted Reproductive Technology (Fertility) Law
- Adoption
Education
- University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- J.D. - 1982
- Honors: cum laude
- University of St. Thomas, St Paul, MN
- B.A. - 1974
- Honors: magna cum laude
- Major: English
Bar Admission
- Minnesota, 1982
- U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1982
- Wisconsin, 2011
Honors
- AV rated, Martindale Hubbell
- Superlawyer, Minnesota
- Client Distinction Award
- American Bar Association Chair’s Award
Professional Associations
- American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Law Practice Management, Family Law Sections), Member
- Reproductive & Genetic Technology Committee, Family Law Section of the American Bar Association, Past Chair
- Minnesota State Bar Association (Probate and Trust Law, Real Property Sections), Family Law Section, Past Chair, Member
- Hennepin County Bar Association, Member
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Sub-Committee, 2001 Minnesota Legislative Task Force To evaluate the 2000 Uniform Parentage Act, Co-Chair
- American Bar Association, Member, 1982 to 2015
- Minnesota State Bar Association, Member, 1982 to 2015
Published Works
- Legislation to Govern Assisted Reproductive Technologies Introduced and Lobbied in 2002 and 2003 Sessions of the Minnesota Legislature
- "The Blessed Trinity and Beyond: Third-Party 'Contract'-ions," a Series of Articles on Surrogacy Agreements, RESOLVE Quarterly Newsletter, Fall, 2005
- "The Use of Pre-Birth Parentage Orders in Surrogacy Proceedings,", ABA Family Law Quarterly, Fall, 2005
- Clarifying the Law of ART: The New American Bar Association Model Act Governing Assisted Reproductive Technology, ABA Family Law Quarterly, Summer, 2008
- I’m a Divorce Lawyer! So Why Should I read About ART?, The ABA Section of Family Law, Family Advocate, Fall, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2011
Classes & Seminars
- Speaker: "Assisted Reproductive Technology: What Every Family Law Attorney Should Know," Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Annual Family Law Conference, 2002
- Speaker: "Assisted Reproductive Technology: What Every Estate Planning Attorney Should Know," Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Annual Probate and Trust Law Conference, 2002
- Speaker: "The Difference Between U.S. and European Ovum Donor Programs: Paternalism versus Self-Determination," Third Annual International Ovum Donation Conference, London, England, 2005
- Poster Presenter: "Can Private Ovum Donation Agencies and Fertility Clinics Coexist in an Imperfect Universe?" ASRM Convention, Montreal, Canada, 2005
- Speaker: "International Fertility Tourism: Why Patients Cross International Borders, and What Can Happen When They Do," Fourth Annual International Ovum Donation Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2006
- Speaker: “Intended Parents, Ovum Donors, and the Children They Create: What Ethical Duties Do We Owe, and to Whom?” Fifth Annual International Ovum Donation Conference, Buck County, Pennsylvania, 2007
- Speaker: “Twenty Ways a Family Lawyer Might Encounter an ART Case,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Annual Family Law Conference, 2007
- Speaker: “Legislative Options in Assisted Reproduction Technology Law,” American Bar Association Mid-year Conference, Los Angeles, California, 2007
- Speaker: “Ten (or Fifteen) Ways ART Should Change Your Estate Planning Documents NOW,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Annual Probate and Trust Law Conference, 2007
- Speaker: “Fertility Tourism and Its Effect on Third-Party Reproduction,” American Fertility Association Symposium, San Francisco, California, 2008
- Guest Lecturer: “Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Law,” Class, Professor Charles P. Kindregan, Jr., Suffolk University Law School, 2008
- Speaker: “Fertility Tourism: Local, National, and International Issues in Assisted Reproduction Law,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Conference, 2008
- Speaker “Establishing Legal Parentage in ART Cases,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Law Conference, 2008
- Speaker: “(At Least) Ten Things Every Family Lawyer Should Know About ART Law,” American Bar Association Family Law Section Fall Conference, 2008
- Speaker: “Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Law, and Other Intriguing Ethical Issues: The Who, What, When, and Where of Practicing ART Law,” American Bar Association Family Law Section Fall Conference, 2008
- Speaker: “Legislative Issues Regarding Third Party-Reproduction,” Lavender Bar Association, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2009
- Speaker: “Niche Practice Areas: One Might Be Right for You,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education The New Lawyer Experience, 2009
- Guest Lecturer: “ABA Model Act,” Class, Professor Charles P. Kindregan, Jr., Suffolk University Law School, March 25, 2009
- Speaker: “Seven Things Every Family Lawyer Should Know About ART Law,” Minnesota State Bar Association Family Law Institute, April, 2009
- Speaker: “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Legislative Models for Practitioners, Drafters, and Lawmakers Considering ART Legislation,” American Bar Association Family Law Section Fall Conference, 2009
- Guest Lecturer: “Practical Aspects of Practicing ART Law,” Class, Professor Mary Pat Byrn, William Mitchell College of Law, November 3, 2009
- Speaker: “Donor Egg, Donor Sperm, and Embryo Donation,” Panel, RESOLVE Conference, 2010
- Speaker: "Legal, Practical and Ethical Issues Related to Egg Donation," American Association of Tissue Banks Annual Spring Meeting, 2010
- Speaker: "What Every Estate Planning Attorney Needs to Know About Assisted Reproduction - Avoiding Malpractice By Learning About Sex," Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Annual Probate and Trust Law Conference, 2010
- Panel Speaker: “Third Party Reproduction – Landmark Cases Presented by Legal Experts,” 2010 SMART ART XI Conference, August 6, 2010
- Speaker: “Reproductive Council Session, Legal, Practical and Ethical Issues Related to Egg Donation,” The 34th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Tissue Banks, September 11, 2010
- Speaker: “Third Party Reproduction – Landmark Cases,” SMART ART Highlights Conference, October 2010
- Speaker: “Roadblocks in Cross-Border Reproductive Care: Are Parents Getting What They Expect and Deserve When They Have Children in Other Countries?” American Association of Tissue Banks Annual Spring Meeting, 2011
- Speaker: “What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: What Happens When the Legal System and ART Law Intersect?” American Bar Association Section of Family Law Spring Meeting, 2011
- Speaker: “Who’s Your Daddy? Perspectives on Creative Conception and the Law,” Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Annual Probate and Trust Law Conference, 2011
- Speaker: “LGBT Family Planning: What’s it to you?” Minnesota Lavender Bar Association Conference. January 28, 2012
- Speaker: "International Surrogacy: Protecting the best interest of the children." Clara Conference in France. February 16, 2012
- Speaker: "Walking the Tightrope, Part I: How to Negotiate and Draft an Effective and Comprehensive Gestational Carrier Agreement." ABA FLS Miami Conference. April 21, 2012
- Speaker: "Brave New World: How to Discuss the Definition of Issue with Clients and Draft Language to Address Various Approaches." The 38th Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference. June 4-5, 2012
- Speaker: "Assisted Reproductive Technology and the Law: How to Blend ART into Your Law Practice." MSBA CLE, 2012 Boutique Law “Niche” Law Practices for Fun and Profit. August 21, 2012
- Speaker: "What Every Estate Planning Attorney Should Know About ART Law." CLE at MoreLaw Minnesota. September 19, 2012
- Speaker: William Mitchell College of Law, ART Law Presentation. November, 14, 2012
- Speaker: Australia Surrogacy Conference, "How Different US States Deal With Surrogacy." Melbourne, Australia, March 6, 2013
- Speaker: MN Department of Health Conference. May, 7, 2013
- Speaker: Men Having Babies Surrogacy Conference, February 13-15, 2014, Israel
- Speaker: 17th Annual Family Law Conference, March 12-14, 2014, Cape Town, South Africa
- Speaker: Biotechnology Law Conference, April 3-5, 2014, Budapest, Hungry
- Speaker: “What do costs come from, how do they vary? What needs to change?” Men Having Babies, London Conference, March 21, 2015
- Speaker: Family Law Section Webinar, April 14, 2015
- Speaker: Men Having Babies, Brussels Conference, May 2, 2015, "Legal and Societal Challenges for Gay Fatherhood Across Europe, and The Road Ahead"
- Speaker: Minnesota County Attorney's Association Child Support Conference, June 12, 2015, "Establishing Legal Parentage in ART Cases."
- Resource/Contributor: “She’s Having our Baby: Surrogacy is on the Rise as In-Vitro Improves,” Wall Street Journal, February 4, 2003
- Resource/Contributor: “Fertility Treatment Laws Proposed,” The Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 26, 2003
- Resource/Contributor: “Two Moms, a Secret Pact – and a Baby Boy,” People Magazine, April 3, 2006
- Resource/Contributor: “Miracles for Sale,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 21, 2007
- Resource/Contributor: “Pregnant Pause,” City Pages, June 18, 2008
- Resource/Contributor: “Delivering Babies (No Hospital Required),” Law and Politics, August/September 2008
- Resource/Contributor: “The Law and the Unborn,” The Brian King Show, BBC Radio 4, April 30, 2009
- Resource/Contributor: “Local Lawyer has Developed a Fertile Niche,” Minnesota Lawyer, January 18, 2010
- Featured Guest: “Marion Edwards Show,” Radio Variety Show, January 26, 2010
- Featured Guest: “Lawyers and Infertility,” Health Radio Net, February 9. 2010
- Resource/Contributor: “Human Egg Trade,” The Walrus, April 2010
- Resource/Contributor: “Fertility’s New Legal Front,” Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2010
- Resource/Contributor: “...and Baby makes Litigation,” ABA Journal, March 2011
- Resource/Contributor: "Kansas sperm donor case. Legal parentage of known sperm donors for lesbian couples." WCCO interview, January 4, 2013
- Resource/Contributor: “Just a sperm donor, or the legal dad? Case in Kansas." Star Tribune, January 6, 2013
- Featured Guest: “News 8,” Television interview regarding Assisted Reproduction Issues in the United States, April 23, 2010
- Featured Guest: “Daytime Toronto,” Television interview regarding Canadian Infertility Awareness Week, April 27, 2010
- Featured Guest: “NTN 24 TV Columbia,” Television interview regarding surrogacy in the United States, July 15, 2010
- Featured Guest, 107.1 Radio with Tuft Lach Family Law firm, March 24, 2013
- Featured Guest: KTTC-TV, Television interview, featured story done on surrogacy in Minnesota. Rochester, MN April, 25, 2013
- Editorial Author: “How many actual surrogates did you interview,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, Friday, April 4, 2014
- Speaker: “How to Structure and Negotiate Gestational Carrier Agreements.” Family Law Institute. Wednesday, March 30, 2016
- Speaker: " The Right To Procreate vs. the Rights of the Child: Should We Agree to Disagree? Fundamental Social and Political Differences between the U.S. and Other Countries that Bear on International Regulation of Surrogacy." 2016 Spring CLE Conference, Nassau, Bahamas, 2016
Representative Cases
- McNattin v. McNattin, 450N.W.2d169, 1990, Minnesota Appellate
- In re Paternity & Custody of Baby Boy A., No. A07-452, 2007 WL 4304448 (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 11, 2007)
Past Positions
- Stillwater High School, Stillwater, MN, High School English Teacher, 1974 to 1979
- McGuigan and McGuigan, Associate Attorney, 1983 to 1984
- Luther, Ballentine, and Carruthers, Associate Attorney, 1984 to 1985
Ancillary Businesses
- Adjunct Professor of Law, William Mitchell College of Law/Hamline Law School
Fraternities or Sororities
- Delta Epsilon Sigma
Position
- Of Counsel