Stutee Nag never imagined her career would revolve around parents chasing children across borders. The dual-licensed attorney, practicing in both New York and India, has carved out a specialized niche in one of the most emotionally charged areas of international law: preventing parental child abduction between countries.
Based in New Jersey, Nag has become a leading voice in a field where legal complexity meets devastating human consequences. Her work spans from crafting preventive strategies for at-risk families to advocating for policy changes between major nations.
“When I first encountered an abduction case, I realized just how devastating it is for children and parents, not just legally, but emotionally and psychologically,” says Nag. “It quickly became clear to me that this was a field with immense human stakes and very little specialized guidance available. That realization shaped my mission: to bridge that gap, offer clarity where there’s confusion, and give families a real strategy in situations that feel hopeless.”
The Counterintuitive Advocate
Nag describes herself as a vocal advocate for India signing the Hague Abduction Convention, a position that might seem counterintuitive for an Indian woman. She argues her background makes this stance logical.
“It may seem counterintuitive, but it’s precisely because I’m Indian that I push for Hague accession,” she explains. “Every year, more and more Indians come to the U.S. in search of growth and opportunity, they spend years and very hard-earned money in building their lives here, and they need a system that protects their rights when families fracture. Right now, abducted children and both parents are trapped in years of litigation in India, and the absence of a treaty framework hurts everyone — whether they are in India or America.”
The Hague Convention provides a neutral process that decides which court should make custodial determinations based on a child’s habitual residence. “My advocacy isn’t about privileging one parent or one country, it’s about protecting children from being weaponized in jurisdictional battles and acknowledging the practical realities of today’s cross-border families.”
Prevention Over Recovery
Nag’s practice focuses on prevention rather than recovery, a strategic choice reflecting both market analysis and practical outcomes. When examining cross-border abduction cases, she identified a gap in the legal market.
“When you look at the outcomes, recovery is deeply uncertain, especially from non-Hague countries. Prevention, however, is where the odds tilt in your favor,” she says. “I recognized this gap early when I immersed myself in cross-border abduction cases. Parents weren’t being counseled on the international consequences, lack of statutorily defined return provisions, the importance of passport controls, travel restrictions, or drafting custody agreements that anticipate mobility.”
She observed that most family courts and domestic attorneys hadn’t encountered these cases before, leaving parents exposed. “That’s where I saw the need for a specialist: someone to step in and show families that it’s far easier to stop an abduction than to undo one. That preventive focus became a niche market in itself, and it works because it’s far easier to stop an abduction than to undo one.”
Addressing Market Failures
The statistics support her approach. Nag points to dismal success rates for American parents pursuing habeas corpus cases in India, which she attributes to structural gaps in case handling.
“Yes, the success rate is dismal — and that reflects a structural gap in how these cases are handled in India,” she says. “Too often, parents approach a habeas corpus petition as though it were a Hague proceeding, focusing on foreign custody orders that carry little practical weight in Indian courts.”
Her strategy involves moving quickly, framing arguments in line with Indian jurisprudence on the best interests of the child, and pushing for interim access rather than waiting years for final outcomes. “Timing is everything: procedural delays almost always decide the case before the merits are reached. By shifting focus from theory to practical realities on the ground, the odds can be improved for families caught in these cross-border disputes.”
Navigating Complex Dynamics
International marriages face unique pressures, and Nag addresses how domestic violence allegations sometimes complicate abduction cases.
“I remind clients that two things can be true: domestic violence must always be taken seriously, and at the same time, false allegations can and do arise in custody battles,” she says. “This problem is compounded where many gender-specific criminal provisions, while designed to protect women, can be misused to place non-resident Indian men at a severe disadvantage.”
Even unfounded allegations can tilt custody disputes, restrict mobility, and jeopardize parental relationships. “Careful, evidence-based advocacy is needed to help courts cut through accusation and counter-accusation, and to refocus proceedings on the child’s welfare, which should remain the central concern.”
Growing Market Opportunities
Indians comprise the world’s largest diaspora, with substantial migration to the U.S. Nag sees expanding demand for specialized services as cross-border families multiply with each new wave of migration.
“With every new wave of migration, cross-border families multiply. And with that comes an inevitable rise in cross-border disputes,” she observes. “I see demand growing not just for litigation, but also for advisory work concerning international travel, relocation planning, and preventive agreements. Essentially, the need for ‘international family law solutions’ will only expand as global mobility increases.”
Personal Experience Shapes Professional Practice
Nag moved from India to the U.S. in 2017 for her LLM with her husband, and they now raise a young child here. This experience as an immigrant mother informs her professional work.
“Living and working across both India and the U.S. gives me a unique vantage point,” she explains. “Most families caught in cross-border disputes are not just navigating custody law — they’re navigating immigration rules, travel restrictions, and cultural expectations that collide in very real ways. Understanding both systems from the inside allows me to anticipate those roadblocks and design strategies that actually work in practice.”
She emphasizes that this dual perspective centers the work on practical problem-solving rather than abstract legal principles.
Vision for Change
When asked about implementing one change to protect American children from international abduction, Nag points to India’s potential accession to the Hague Convention.
“If I could wave a wand, it would be India’s accession to the Hague Convention,” she says. “That single step would change the landscape overnight by giving families a predictable, enforceable framework. Until then, we’re left patching together solutions, but I’ll continue to push for prevention and advocacy to bridge that gap.”
As global mobility increases and cross-border families become more common, attorneys like Nag who navigate multiple legal systems and cultural contexts represent an evolving area of international family law. Her work demonstrates how specialized expertise, combined with personal understanding of the immigrant experience, creates both business opportunities and meaningful impact for families facing difficult circumstances.
