The Attorney Who Adopted While Taking the Bar Exam | Part 1

On this episode of Eternal Family Adoptions with hosts Donna Pope and Nathan Gwilliam, Derek Williams was studying 18 hours a day for the bar exam when he got the call - his future daughter would be born in just three weeks. As an adoption attorney who has helped hundreds of families, Derek shares his own journey of building a family through two open adoptions with LDS Family Services. His daughter grew up calling her birth mother "hair mommy" because that's where her red hair came from, and both his children have maintained close relationships with their birth mothers throughout their lives. Derek addresses the fears many adoptive parents have about open adoption - will the children feel torn between families, will there be jealousy, and what happens when birth fathers enter the picture later? You'll hear about the time his family called on a birth mother for help during a difficult teenage moment, showing how these relationships can become a source of strength rather than competition. Derek also explains what happened to Utah's adoption landscape after LDS Family Services closed in 2014, shifting his practice from 90% agency adoptions to mostly private placements almost overnight. This episode offers both professional insight and personal wisdom about modern adoption, addressing real concerns while showing how open adoption relationships can work beautifully when built on mutual respect and clear boundaries.