Natalie S. French is a partner in the Firm’s corporate, municipal, real estate and trusts & estates practices. She focuses on assisting clients with matters related to residential and commercial real estate, estate and trust planning, probate/estate administration and municipal law. Natalie advises towns and villages on a variety of legal issues, including zoning, contractual agreements, finance and subdivision review.
Natalie has developed a niche practice assisting individual clients and families with adoption law and fostering. She is an Adoption Fellow with the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys and has experience representing birth parents and adoptive parents in private adoptions, voluntary agency adoptions, interstate adoptions, foster care adoptions, step/second parent adoptions and re-adoptions. While most adoptions are uncontested, she has successfully represented adoptive couples at the trial level as part of contested adoption proceedings brought by the biological mothers.
Natalie is a graduate of the State University of New York at Geneseo and Albany Law School of Union University. Prior to joining Hancock Estabrook, she practiced law at Barney, Grossman & Dubow, and spent five years practicing in Albany, NY.
She is a member of the New York State Bar Association, Tompkins County Bar Association and Finger Lakes Women’s Bar Association.
Representative Matters
- Matter of J./E. (Tompkins Co. Family Ct. 2022) — Ruled in favor of adoptive parents in best interests hearing brought by biological mother; allowed adoptive parents to finalize adoption.
- Matter of Baby Girl M. (Albany Co. Surrogate’s Ct. 2018) — Ruled in favor of adoptive parents in best interests hearing brought by biological mother; allowed adoptive parents to finalize adoption.