BIOGRAPHY OF STEVEN H. SNYDER, ESQ.
Steven H. Snyder, Esq., is the founding and principal partner of STEVEN H.SNYDER &ASSOCIATES,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW,11270 – 86 Avenue North, Maple Grove, Minnesota 55369. Mr. Snyder’sth
primary areas of practice are Assisted Reproductive Technology Law and related Estate Planning. Mr. Snyder attended the College of St. Thomas, graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in English in 1974.
Mr. Snyder attended law school at the University of Minnesota, graduating cum laude in 1982. He was a member of the National Trial Practice Competition Team during 1981–1982.
Mr. Snyder was admitted to legal practice in Minnesota and before the U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, in 1982. Mr. Snyder successfully litigated the first contested Minnesota surrogacy case to date 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won sole custody of the child for a single father; this case has been affirmed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals in an unpublished opinion: In Re the Paternity and
Custody of Baby Boy A, P.G.M., Respondent, and J.M.A., Appellant (Minn. App. Case No. A07-452,
filed December 11, 2007). OTHER REPORTED CASES: McNattin v. McNattin, 450 N.W. 2169 (Minn.App.1990).
Mr. Snyder has been an adjunct professor of assisted reproductive technology law at the William Mitchell College of Law from 2010-2013 and was also an adjunct professor of assisted reproductive technology law at the Hamline University Law School from 2009-2010.
Mr. Snyder is a member of the American Bar Association (Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Law Practice Management, and Family Law Sections), Immediate Past Chair of the Reproductive & Genetic Technology Committee of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association, the ABA liaison to the National Coalition for Oversight of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (NCOART), the ABA Family Law Section liaison to the ABA Bioethics and the Law Committee, a member of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Policy Working Group for the Prevention and Treatment of Infertility in the U.S., a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association (Family Law, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law sections), recent past chair of the family law section, the Hennepin County Bar Association, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Mr. Snyder also serves as a member of the national advocacy committee of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, past chair of the legal advisory group for the American Fertility Association (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 participating legal group.
Mr. Snyder has been active in numerous legislative efforts in Minnesota, including serving as the Co-Chair of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Sub-Committee of the 2001 Minnesota Legislative Task Force that evaluated the 2000 Uniform Parentage Act. He was also the chief author
of legislation to govern Assisted Reproductive Technologies that was and is being introduced and lobbied in the 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 sessions of the Minnesota legislature. Mr. Snyder is the author of numerous articles and Minnesota State Bar Association continuing legal education (CLE) materials, including:
Author: "The Blessed Trinity and Beyond: Third-Party 'Contract'-ions," a series of articles on surrogacy agreements for RESOLVE.
Principal Author: "The Use of Pre-Birth Parentage Orders in Surrogacy Proceedings," ABA Family Law Quarterly, Fall, 2005.
Co-Author, with Charles P. Kindregan, Jr., “Clarifying the Law of ART: The New American Bar Association Model Act Governing Assisted Reproductive Technology,” ABA Family Law Quarterly, Summer, 2008.
Author: “I’m a Divorce Lawyer! So Why Should I read About ART?” The ABA Section of Family Law, Family Advocate, Fall 2011, Vol. 34, No. 2
Mr. Snyder is also a frequent national and international lecturer and continuing legal education presenter in the area of Assisted Reproductive Technology:
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
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 34 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Tissue Banks,th 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: 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 38 Annual Probate & Trust Lawth 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 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: Annual CLE Conference, “If You’re Gonna Do it, Do It Right”, San Francisco, August 9, 2013
Mr. Snyder regularly contributes to various media interviews and publications as an industry expert in assisted reproduction and third party reproduction legal issues:
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.
Author: “Medical Insurance Issues as the Affect the Selection of a Potential Surrogate,” Syndicated in various publications, March 2010.
Author: “How to Locate a Surrogate,” Syndicated in various publications, March 18, 2010.
Resource/Contributor: “Human Egg Trade,” The Walrus, April 2010.
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.
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: KTTC-TV, Television interview, featured story done on surrogacy in Minnesota. Rochester, MN April, 25, 2013
Featured Guest: KBJR-TV, the NBC affiliate in Duluth, “The Rights of Married Same-Sex Couples” July 16, 2013
Resource/Contributor: “Legal implications of home insemination” Publication in the New York Times. Jillian Keenan, Journalist. August 22, 2013
Resource/Contributor: “Womb for Rent”, Weekly Standard Magazine, Vol 19, No 5, October 7, 2013
Resource/Contributor: “Surrogacy rise creates niche practice area”, Minnesota Lawyer, October 28, 2013
