Annette Hickey

Annette is a family law solicitor and heads up the Surrogacy & Fertility Law team at Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors. She is one of Ireland’s foremost solicitors in the area of Surrogacy law and regularly speaks at conferences, writes articles and contributes to both Radio and TV in addition to her work advising Irish couples across the length and breadth of Ireland.

Having apprenticed with Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan, Annette qualified as a solicitor in 1998. She has worked across all areas of law before specialising in Family law and Surrogacy & Fertility law related matters over ten years ago.

Annette is a partner with Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan Solicitors, where she works exclusively as a surrogacy/fertility law solicitor.

In 2013, she established the Surrogacy & Fertility Law team in Poe Kiely Hogan Lanigan.  During the last ten years, she has had the great privilege and honour of working with and supporting many Irish parents through their journey to parenthood via surrogacy.  Annette is passionate in her belief that a legal route to parenthood should be available in Ireland to all.

She has represented Irish intended parents who have pursued surrogacy in Ireland, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Argentina, Greece, Georgia, and Ukraine.  She is committed to providing all intended parents with the highest standard legal service, together with personal, sensitive, and empathetic support and guidance.  She has represented Irish parents during their Irish Court applications seeking Declarations of Parentage, Guardianship Orders, Custody Orders, and Orders dispensing with the necessity to seek the surrogate’s consent to the issuance of an Irish passport.

She looks forward very much to representing second “unrecognised” legal parents through surrogacy after the commencement of retrospective declaration of parentage provisions in the Health Assisted Human Reproduction legislation and to working with and support Irish intended parents following the commencement of legislative provisions providing for the granting of Parental Orders for both parents of children born through surrogacy.

Annette and her team represented Mark Hedderman and Sinead Gallagher Hedderman in their High Court judicial review proceedings in April 2021 seeking an exemption from mandatory hotel quarantine during the Covid-19 pandemic.  This case resulted in the introduction of an exemption from the requirement for families returning with their newborn babies born via surrogacy to enter mandatory hotel quarantine also introduced the word “surrogacy” into Irish legislation for the first time.

Annette and her team were honoured to represent Brian, Kathy and Luke Egan in their High Court Judicial Review proceedings between October 2022 and April 2023.The Egan’s application was seeking a declaration that provision must be included for a retrospective declaration of parentage route for Kathy Egan with her son Luke who was born through international surrogacy.  When the case was adjourned in April 2023 the High Court Judge acknowledged  the Egan’s proceedings “significant achievement in generating momentum and action”

Law Society of Ireland

Annette has an honours law degree from University College Dublin and a Family Law Diploma from the Law Society of Ireland.