Carla Marie Calabrese

By the time my husband and I reached Carla and Calabrese Huff on our hopeful path to parenthood, we had already been through infertility treatments, including IUI and IVF, and a surrogate, all of which were unsuccessful. The ups and downs were overwhelming: at one point I remember saying, “Maybe w...e weren’t meant to be parents,” to a close friend. Still, somehow, we ended up at an adoption panel at a local church. We began to open our hearts to the idea of adoption, and a new chapter started. Friends had used Calabrese Huff as their adoption attorney and spoke highly of Carla and her team. We had so many questions: what were the ins and outs of the legalities? Exactly where did we go and what did we do to get the process started? How did we choose an adoption agency? Carla is an incredible professional. She took time with us; she was thorough, knowledgeable, and comprehensive. We felt comfortable that we were in good hands. Not only is Carla an excellent attorney, she is also an adoptive mother herself. Both would prove invaluable. She could relate and empathize. While informing us of the law, she didn’t lapse into “attorney speak”—she was aware of the potential risks and how to explain them so that we absorbed the information because she had literally been there. It felt like she knew where we were coming from. After everything we had gone through, it was exactly what we needed to move forward. There were social workers and home visits; we had a profile that detailed us, our marriage, and our hopes as potential parents. We were matched with a birth mother who was four months pregnant; we went to California to meet her. Cradle of Hope, a sister company completed the final study and visit; Cradle of Hope is connected to Calabrese Huff, so it was much easier to finalize with everyone on the same page. We waited in California for three days for the state to approve the adoption of our baby girl, which was finalized in California through an attorney there. We were absolutely over the moon. When our daughter was two, we decided to adopt again. We worked with Amia, the legal assistant at Calabrese Huff, who was wonderful and helpful: an absolute advocate. This time, however, was more difficult. Our attempt to adopt fell through at four in the morning when the birth mother decided she did not want to place her child for adoption. I’m not going say the situation was not devastating, but Carla was up at the hospital attempting to solve the situation from any and all angles. When the birth mother showed the first sign that she might change her mind, Amia immediately contacted the social worker and Carla to go to the hospital. While ultimately the birth mother chose not to place her child for adoption, both Amia and Carla made every possible effort they could on our behalf. After another admittedly riskier attempt to adopt a baby fell through, we felt we could not emotionally move forward to adopt again but Carla told me not to give up. While we weren’t even signed up as potential parents at this point, the adoption agency Carla had referred us to made us aware of a month-old baby available for adoption, and less than twenty-four hours later, our son was placed with us for adoption. Carla had fought so long and hard for us that when this situation arose, the agency called us first. Carla and Amia were very supportive throughout this tumultuous time; I had their cell phones; they were available for us when we needed them. I can’t tell you what that means in this kind of situation. It is everything. Recently, my husband and I were on a foster and adoption panel for our church. We stressed to couples wanting to adopt the importance of connecting with an attorney who understood the complexities surrounding adoption. Offline to those who asked, we specifically recommended Carla and Calabrese Huff. I know three adoptive couples who have recently adopted wit