ATTORNEY PROFILES

Heather Ross

Heather Ross brings a unique blend of personal passion, transactional expertise, and litigation experience to Ross & Zuckerman LLP, along with a deep, personal commitment to reproductive justice and family building.

Before co-founding Ross & Zuckerman LLP in 2005, Heather represented low-income women at Legal Aid Chicago (formerly known as the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago), handling a range of civil matters including family law and juvenile court cases. Earlier in her career, she worked in private practice, focusing on the drafting and negotiation of complex financial transactions.

Motivated by her own experience with infertility, Heather redirected her legal career to advocate for individuals and families navigating the complex world of assisted reproductive technology (ART). Since co-founding the firm with her longtime dear friend and former Legal Aid Chicago colleague, Nora Zuckerman, she has represented thousands of clients in matters involving egg, sperm, and embryo donation, gestational surrogacy, parentage orders, and related adoptions.

Heather is a frequent lecturer and author on ART law and ethics, having spoken at leading institutions and conferences including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, the American Bar Association, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Family Equality Council, The Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy, University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Chicago Urological Society and the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education.

In addition to her legal work, Heather is committed to public service and is currently serving her second term as an elected Village Trustee for the Village of Northbrook. In this role, she has championed policies focused on affordable housing, sustainability, economic development and community inclusion.

With deep roots in legal aid, contract law, and personal experience with infertility, Heather approaches each case with empathy, expertise, and a client-centered focus.

 

Professional Memberships:

  • American Society of Reproductive Medicine , Past Chair to the Legal Professional Group
  • Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, Fellow
  • Family Equality Council, Past Chair to Legal Advisory Council (formerly known as Path2Parenthood)
  • The LGBTQ+ Bar and the Family Law Institute
  • The Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy
  • Resolve
  • American Bar Association’s Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee
  • Chicago Bar Association, Adoption Committee

Educational Background:

University of Illinois College of Law       May 1993
Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude

Indiana University, Bachelor of Science with Distinction       May 1990
Phi Beta Kappa
Joint Degree in Political Science and the School of Public and
Environmental Affairs

A portrait of Nora Zuckerman smiling.

Nora Zuckerman

Nora Zuckerman co-founded Ross & Zuckerman, LLP with friend Heather Ross in 2005 to focus exclusively on the evolving legal landscape surrounding fertility and assisted reproductive technology (ART). With a career rooted in advocacy and access to justice, Nora brings decades of legal experience and deep compassion to her work helping build families.

Before founding the firm, Nora served as an attorney at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (now Legal Aid Chicago), one of the nation’s leading nonprofit legal organizations. There, she represented low-income clients in a variety of civil legal matters including family and consumer law and served as a Senior Attorney in the Home Ownership Preservation Project, where she advocated for victims of predatory lending and represented clients facing foreclosure, tax sales, and bankruptcy.

Since shifting her practice to ART law, Nora has represented hundreds of clients each year—including intended parents, egg and sperm donors, embryo donors, and surrogates. Nora is known for her compassionate, attentive approach and her commitment to making complex legal processes more understandable and supportive.

In 2024, Nora was honored with the Lemonade Award from the Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation, a recognition given to individuals who turn challenging circumstances into positive impact. The award celebrated her unwavering commitment to reproductive law and her compassionate advocacy for individuals and families building their families through assisted reproduction.

Nora is a Fellow and Board Trustee of the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA), where she has served in multiple leadership roles, including CLE Co-Chair at the 2023 and 2024 annual conferences and Co-Chair of the Midyear Conference in 2024. She is also a member of the AAAA Ethics Committee.

Beyond her legal practice, Nora is deeply involved in community service. She is a founding committee member and was a longtime Co-Chair of Luggage for Freedom, a project of the National Council of Jewish Women that provides essential items and luggage to survivors in domestic violence shelters. She received NCJW’s Outstanding Leadership Award in 2023 and was named Volunteer of the Year in 2019. Nora also served for six years on the board of the Deerfield Parent Network, including two years as Co-President.

 

Professional Memberships:

  • Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, Board Trustee and Fellow
  • American Society of Reproductive Medicine, Legal Professional Group
  • The LGBTQ+ Bar and the Family Law Institute
  • The Society for Ethics in Egg Donation and Surrogacy
  • Resolve
  • American Bar Association’s Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee
  • Chicago Bar Association, Adoption Committee
  • Illinois Bar Association

Educational Background:

Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri       May 1996
Juris Doctor

University of Wisconsin – Madison       May 1992
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology