Reviews

I can not recommend Maria enough! I was originally referred to her by my surrogacy agency at the time and it could not have gone any better. She is knowledgeable ,so kind , clear with everything that is happening or going to happen and truly puts her client's interest first. She goes above and beyond to make sure you are fully informed in all aspects of your contract/case and has no issues with a little extra hand holding should you need it. Her combination of empathy and logic are a breath of fresh air in what can sometimes be a chaotic world of surrogacy.

I founded Sew Much Hope Project, LLC, a social enterprise, in 2017. As we grew and our needs changed, we found ourselves in an exciting but complicated new phase of development: merging with the Refugee and Migrant Women's Initiative, an existing 501(c)3. As two leaders and founders, we had poured our hearts, souls, and 100s of hours of unpaid time into developing our organizations. Therefore, it was imperative that we proceeded with care and a clear understanding of the legal implications and long-term impact of every decision we made. Maria could not have been a better caretaker of our vision. She walked with us every single step of the way, from assessing our programmatic structure to Board training and everything in between. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we would not be the robust and dynamic organization we are today without her knowledge of nonprofit law and "boots on the ground" mentality. In addition, her intelligent, empathetic, and experienced guidance was indispensable and made the whole journey enjoyable. Thank you, Maria, for your dedication and determination.

Maria has been working with our nonprofit organization on a pro bono basis; she has done an incredible job providing legal and strategic guidance, contract drafting and negotiation, and compliance insight as we assessed our programs and plotted a course for long-term growth and development. Throughout the entire process, she added to the value of our organization through her work ethic and analytical skills. As a result, we have a more structured organization with clear, specific, thoroughly developed plans of action for our current programs and a blueprint for our future growth. Maria is very focused and task-oriented, yet she still relates to her clients on a more personal level, cheering each success or uplifting spirits when the inevitable roadblocks occurred...and she always helped us find the path forward. We are very thankful for her dedication to her clients, her passion for her work, and the sincerity of her heart while working with our board and staff. Maria thank you for reminding us that dreams do indeed come true when you wake up and take the first step forward… Highly recommend!

Maria Bates represented us, a mixed race gay couple, in an extremely challenged adoption. She helped us accomplish our goal of developing a family. So much so that we continued to adopt. Our family now is eight children strong and we couldn't be more pleased.

Maria helped me with an adult adoption and not only knew how to quickly navigate the legal side but was able to provide myself and my daughter personal advice from her own experiences as an adoptive parent. I've continued to reach out to Maria for legal advice in complicated cases and she is a fierce advocate and always knows exactly how to navigate the challenge. Maria has provided pro-bono services for our community and is a quick strategic thinker that can figure out how to move barriers to make things happen. I can't say enough good things about her services.

I am honored to write a recommendation for Maria Bates. I used Maria’s services when I adopted my son. She walked alongside me during one of the most exciting, stressful and ultimately life changing times. She took the time to get to know me and shared some of her own journey which helped me feel supported. Maria is truly passionate about family formation. She understood and anticipated my questions and concerns before I even asked them. Maria and her team were advocates for both me and the birth parents. Their support helped us create a close and trusting relationship. So much so that the birth mother asked me if I would be with her in the delivery room when my son was born – which remains the most amazing and moving experience of my life. Maria’s support for us didn’t end when the adoption was finalized. While our adoption was eight years ago, Maria has reached out periodically just to check in. Because of her ongoing professionalism and support, I would not hesitate to contact Maria for any type of legal service in the future.

Maria Bates helped my husband and me work with a surrogate to have our twin boys. She was terrific. She’s capable, caring, responsible, and responsive. As a law professor at Stetson University College of Law, I first met Maria when she was a student. Even then, she was enthusiastic about family formation and her ability to help people achieve their goals. I’ve watched her grow as a professional ever since and finally became a client myself. I couldn’t be more proud of the professional Maria has become and recommend her highly. - Professor Joe Morrissey

Maria has been an intricate part in our surrogacy journeys. She has been so knowledgeable about what needs to be done and when and made everything from the legal side extremely smooth. We have so much to deal with, it was nice to have the trust in someone to get the job done without having to follow up. We have worked with her on both sides in the process. Our first experience with Maria was her representing the surrogate which she was extremely professional and great to work with. On our second pregnancy, we asked our agency to use her as we actually felt very comfortable with the way she explains things and her empathy with what we were going through. We will be starting the process again for our fourth child soon, and we have already requested to use Maria from our agency. I cannot say enough good things about working with her and helping guide us through this complex legal process.

Maria represented my husband and me in a challenging personal case. She went above and beyond to advocate for us almost as if our case was personal to her. We feel fortunate to have had her at our side. Her efforts paid off in a successful legal outcome against difficult odds. We highly recommend her.

Paid a $550 to not get paperwork from a court date, instead we got paperwork from the actual arrest- we already had and knew!! We needed the depositions and stenographer as we had asked for. Unfortunately not what we got Very unhappy with the outcome