About Ashley Pyon
Legal experience.
Personal perspective.
The legal experience and personal perspective behind Kinward’s approach to family formation law.
My path to founding Kinward is both professional and personal. Before I ever practiced family formation law, I experienced the process from the other side—as an intended parent.
My own path to parenthood extended over several years and included years of IVF before my family ultimately turned to gestational surrogacy. With the help of a wonderful gestational carrier, we were able to welcome our daughter.
That experience changed not only my family, but the direction I wanted my legal career to take.
By that point, I had spent my legal career advising clients on sophisticated corporate, transactional, and other complex legal matters, first in private practice at Paul Hastings in Washington, D.C. and Ropes & Gray in New York and later as legal counsel to a multifamily office and a single-family office.
That work shaped the way I practice law: with an emphasis on careful drafting, thoughtful negotiation, practical judgment, and discretion. My in-house experience, in particular, gave me the opportunity to work closely with individuals, families, and their advisors and reinforced the importance of understanding not only the legal question, but the broader circumstances behind it.
Kinward grew from that intersection: my experience as an attorney and my experience as an intended parent.
Going through surrogacy changed the way I think about the role of a lawyer in the family formation process. I understood firsthand how much can sit behind a legal question: years of decisions, uncertainty, relationships, hope, and sometimes loss.
It also gave me a deep appreciation for the many people involved in helping a family take shape, including the extraordinary role of a gestational carrier.
The legal work matters enormously. But so does understanding the people behind it.
Education, Admissions & Professional Memberships
Ashley received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from the University of Virginia. She is admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia and is a member of the American Bar Association’s Assisted Reproductive Technologies Committee and the Legal Professionals Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
Outside of work, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and Goldendoodle, searching for vintage furniture, and trying new restaurants around New York City.
The Name
The meaning behind Kinward.
Kinward takes its name from kin—family and connection—and -ward, suggesting movement in a particular direction. Together, they reflect the idea at the heart of the firm: moving toward family.