Melissa Neckers Recognized as 2025 Go To Lawyer for Family Law by Michigan Lawyers Weekly
Melissa Neckers has been recognized as a Michigan Lawyers Weekly 2025 Go To Lawyer in Family Law announced yesterday. Ms. Neckers is Senior Counsel in Miller Johnson’s Grand Rapids office and is Chair of the firm’s Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy practice.
Since 2016, Ms. Neckers has been on the frontlines of helping change Michigan surrogacy law. She has worked with parties in the areas of assisted reproduction including surrogacy, embryo donation, sperm donation, and egg donation. She helps clients comply with the laws of Michigan and the requirements of fertility centers. Ms. Neckers also helps clients establish parental rights once pregnancy occurs.
Ms. Neckers has represented the intended parents of a widely publicized case in which biological parents were forced to adopt their biological children born via surrogate which drew national attention to Michigan’s outdated surrogacy law. She worked tirelessly with Michigan legislators to change outdated laws and was the only Michigan attorney to testify in support of the Michigan Family Protection Act in front of the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee. On April 1, 2024 Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the Michigan Family Protection Act into law, establishing new protections for surrogates, parents, and especially children born through assisted reproduction and surrogacy.
Ms. Neckers is a Fellow of the Michigan State Bar Association and is a member of the American Bar Association Assisted Reproduction Section, a member of the Legal Professional Group for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and an attorney member of the The Society for Ethical Egg Donation (SEEDS). She also belongs to the Grand Rapids Bar Association and State Bar of Michigan where she is a member of the Family Law and LGBTQ Law Section, the Surrogacy Committee and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. Ms. Neckers served two terms on the Michigan Court Forms Committee’s Adoption Work Group.
About Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly 2025 Go To Lawyers
Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s special section, now in its Sixth year, the “Go to Lawyers” program recognizes top lawyers around the state in a given practice area.
About Miller Johnson
Miller Johnson is Michigan’s Law Firm, providing legal counsel to businesses and individuals in corporate matters, employment and labor law, litigation, employee benefits, and private client representation including estate planning and family law. Since 1959, Miller Johnson has been Michigan-based and has served clients worldwide.
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