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Find Lawyers in Canada for Family Law
Practice Area Overview
In Canada, family law is governed by federal and provincial laws (statue and case law) that deal with family related legal issues, including marriage, separation and divorce, custody and access, child protection, division of property, support and adoption. The area of family law often includes financial negotiations, inheritance issues and the drafting and interpretation of prenuptial contracts and separation agreements.
Primarily statute-based, family law is largely codified within statues including the federal Divorce Act, which applies to married people residing in Canada. Issues such as the division of family property, child protection and custody and support matters between people who are not married are governed by statutes which vary from province to province.
Family lawyers represent clients in court and in settlement negotiations and they prepare prenuptial, separation, divorce and custody agreements in the appropriate circumstances. Family lawyers are trained to resolve disputes between parties through a number of dispute-resolution mechanisms, including litigation (bringing a matter to court and asking a judge to make a determination) and negotiating with opposing counsel. Some lawyers are also trained in mediation (assisting the parties, in a non-partisan manner, to reach agreements on the issues).
In recent years, some Canadian family lawyers have received training in Collaborative Family Law. Collaborative Family Law is a process in which the parties and their lawyers make a formal commitment to resolve the dispute using an interest-based model rather than a ligation model. Clients engage lawyers to reach a settlement, but if the process breaks down, the lawyer must withdraw from the case. The collaborative process relies on principled negotiation techniques.
Oftentimes, a family lawyer helps clients through the most difficult time in their lives. In the middle of family legal disputes, clients’ emotions tend to run high especially in cases of physical abuse or adultery. A good family lawyer not only possesses extensive knowledge of the law but also exceptional “people skills” and the ability to help clients navigate the complex legal realities of transitioning families.
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Experienced Family Law Practitioner. Called to the Ontario Bar in 1995. Graduate of Bishop's University 1988 .University of Windsor Law School (1993) Known for attention to detail and thorough preparation of materials used in litigation, mediation or arbitration to achieve successful resolution. Committed to resolving matters efficiently, fairly and without having to resort to litigation. Thorough and persuasive in court, when litigation is required. Avid downhill skier, water-skier and trave...
Michelle Bailey specializes in family law and is a partner at Moe Hannah LLP. In addition to resolving complex property division, Michelle is keen to preserve good will for parents as they move forward in their lives. She also provides mediation services for clients. Michelle’s first degree in Small Business Management provides her with a solid foundation for understanding the nuances and challenges involved when a family has a closely held company in the center of a family law dispute....
Karon Bales is a founding partner of Bales Beall LLP whose experience speaks for itself. Her practice is centred on family law, wills and estate issues. Her experience in trial and appellate advocacy in family law and estate matters is extensive, particularly with those involving partnerships, business corporations and commercial issues. Karon also provides sound guidance with estate administration and planning, domestic and off-shore trusts, and succession planning for owners of family busin...
Traci Bannister is a Family Lawyer and Family Law Mediator and is a partner at the firm Boyes Tiefenbach Bannister Family Law Counsel LLP in Calgary, Alberta. Traci practiced as an Attorney and Family Law Mediator in South Africa for 20 years before moving to Calgary in 2012. Traci requalified as a Barrister/Solicitor in Canada and was called to the Alberta bar in June 2015. Traci is experienced in helping clients reach resolutions of disputes in all areas of family law, such as parenting dis...
Family Lawyer for 30+ years. Mediator for 25+ years. Arbitrator and parenting coordinator for 15+ years. Current Co-Chair of the Alberta Family Lawyers Association; Past President for the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Alberta Branch; Past National Chair for the Family Law Section of the CBA; Background in psychology and corporate litigation.
Mediation gives people more control over the outcome of their disputes and provides privacy over what are often highly sensitive issues for the parties involved. Many people do not fully realize the lack of control one faces at trial nor do people understand the truly public nature of the courthouse. As a mediator, Diane helps clients overcome legal challenges in a fair and efficient manner. She manages emotions and expectations, and, by engaging in an active risk analysis, she helps to achie...
Todd is a highly skilled litigator and trial lawyer with wide-ranging courtroom experience spanning all levels of Court in British Columbia. Todd settles as many files through agreements or mediation as possible, but in the event of an impasse he litigates the matter to a resolution. Todd’s practice areas include the division of high net-worth assets including complex corporate structures, trusts, foreign property, and pensions. He practices in all manner of parenting and custody litiga...
Kate Bennett is a Partner and Practice Group Lead with the Family Law group at Harrison Pensa. Kate’s practice encompasses all issues related to family law including separation and divorce, decision-making responsibility for children (formerly custody), parenting time (formerly primary care and/or access), child and spousal support, and division of property. Kate represents clients in family law litigation, as well as alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration. ...
Wendy E. Best has a well-established family law practice and has earned ongoing recognition as a leading family law practitioner since being called to the bar in 1980. She joined Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP in 1982 and became partner in 1986. Wendy was appointed King's Counsel in 1994. She acts primarily for high net worth individuals and families. While she settles most matters, Wendy’s practice includes litigation. She was inducted as a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawye...
Mary Jane Binks, K.C. is the Senior Group Counsel in the Family Law Group at Tierney Stauffer LLP. She is also an Estate Litigation Practitioner. Mary Jane was a former Assistant Crown Attorney and Vice Chairman of the Commercial Registration Appeal Tribunal (Ontario). An advocate in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Trial Division) and the Ontario Court of Appeal, she also serves as an Arbitrator in Family Law disputes. Mary Jane has served as a Family Law instructor for the Law Society...
Joanne Biron is Miller Thomson's National Specialty Lead, Family Law. In fact, she created this group which includes more than 20 lawyers throughout Canada, thus making Miller Thomson the only national law firm with a family law practice. Joanne represents primarily business people and professionals before all levels of court. Joanne has in-depth expertise in family law matters, including divorce, legal separation, child custody, alimony, parentage, common-law union contracts, separation of c...
Adam is a partner at Torkin Manes. He practises in all aspects of family law including divorce, custody and access, property, support, and domestic contracts. Adam’s focus on efficient resolution guides his practice and advice to his clients. Concurrently, Adam advocates effectively to achieve a result that is aligned with his clients’ interests. Adam regularly appears in courts throughout the Greater Toronto Area, including the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Just...
Patricia Blocksom, KC has been a partner with Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP since 1990. She is a skilled senior matrimonial lawyer and her practice emphasizes negotiation, mediation and arbitration resolutions to complex property, support, and custody settlements. Pat’s current practice focuses on mediation, arbitration in the family and estate law. She also advises on and prepares pre-nuptial, cohabitation and post-nuptial agreements. She has been a co-instructor for the Legal Education Soc...
Scott Booth is the managing partner of the firm’s family law practice. Called to the British Columbia bar in 1994, he has focused exclusively on family law since 2006. His practice includes litigation as well as mediation and arbitration, both as counsel and as mediator/arbitrator. Scott’s strength is problem solving and assisting his clients in resolving complex issues. This includes the unique circumstances of high income/net worth families, families with generational wealth pla...
Sarah Boulby of Boulby Weinberg LLP is a seasoned family law lawyer with over 30 years of experience. She advises clients in Ontario and globally on complex support, property, and parenting matters. Sarah is skilled in negotiation, litigation, mediation, and arbitration, providing comprehensive legal representation. Sarah is a sought-after speaker and writer on family law topics. Her expertise has been recognized by the Law Society of Ontario, which uses her educational materials in its licen...
John-Paul E. Boyd, KC is an accredited family law arbitrator, family law mediator and parenting coordinator. He is the principal of John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers , providing services throughout Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and counsel to the preeminent Calgary family law firm, Wise Scheible Barkauskas . He is a senior family law lawyer nationally known for his approach to family justice issues, contributions to public and professional legal education on family law, and special ...
Louise Campbell has been a lawyer since 1983. Her practice consists of family and related areas of law. Her approach is to find a resolution which is within the law that represents the concern of all parties, including economic, cultural, religious and health issues. She has been mediating since 1995 and has been Collaborative Family Lawyer since 2000. Because they are required in the resolution of family matters, she is also an excellent legal source for real estate, wills and estates. Areas...
Alex has a broad practice in all areas of family law, including high conflict parenting issues and complex financial matters. She is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers with experience in jurisdictional issues and Hague convention cases. Alex is focused on resolutions. She is a strategic litigator, who has successfully represented clients at all levels of court in Ontario. Wherever possible, she strives to resolve family conflicts out of court through negotiation and alter...
Erin Chaiton-Murray echaitonmurray@murraylawsonllp.com 416-596-1708 Erin is a Partner at Murray Lawson LLP Erin has practised exclusively in the area of family law since her call to the Ontario bar in 2009. She has extensive experience in all aspects of family law, including advocating for clients before all levels of court in Ontario, and negotiating and drafting cohabitation agreements, marriage contracts and separation agreements. Erin frequently represents clients at both mediations and a...
Nikki specializes exclusively in the area of family law. Her practice includes all matters affecting families in British Columbia such as separation, divorce, property division, common law trusts, spousal support, child support, guardianship, residency, and parenting time. Nikki has extensive experience drafting complex cohabitation, marriage, and separation agreements, and has appeared before all levels of court in British Columbia. As a member of the International Academy of Collaborative P...
Stephen is a strategic and fearless advocate in the courtroom. He is known for his ability to diffuse highly-charged situations so that cooler heads can prevail when resolving contentious family law matters through mediation, arbitration or litigation. Recognizing that every client is different, Stephen effectively adapts his approach to their unique wants, needs, and circumstances to ensure their best interests are protected. As a partner at Epstein Cole, Stephen’s practice focuses on ...
With strong negotiation skills and extraordinary legal acumen, Kenneth is well-known for his ability to find creative, cooperative and beneficial resolutions to complex family law disputes. Whether through mediation, arbitration or litigation, he is sharp-witted, responsive, and empathetic in his approach to achieving his clients’ goals, meeting their needs and exceeding their expectations. Kenneth founded Epstein Cole with Philip Epstein in 1978. As a senior partner, his practice focus...
Kate is a partner in the Saskatoon office. Kate is a lawyer in the Saskatoon office and practices exclusively in the area of family law, including assisting clients with division of family property, child and spousal support, parenting matters and divorce. Kate completed her Bachelor of Business Administration at Simon Fraser University in 2005. She attended the University of Saskatchewan and received her Bachelor of Laws in 2009. Kate joined McKercher LLP in 2020 as a senior associate in the...
Leigh began her practice at a large downtown law firm in the area of labour law. She soon realized that she loved the challenge of preserving personal relationships in the heat of legal battle. In 2007, she found her way to practicing family law, mediation and divorce law in a small firm with Lynn and Angus at Reierson Schurman. It was a perfect fit. After several years together as Reierson Schurman, Leigh founded Davis Reierson in 2010. She joined MDW Law as counsel in January 2023. Leigh ha...
Wanda has been practicing as a lawyer for more than 20 years and is a returning partner of Kirk Montoute Dawson LLP. A family law practitioner, mediator, arbitrator and parenting coordinator, Wanda Dawson has argued successfully at every level of Court in Alberta. She has extensive training and experience in many methods of litigation and conflict resolution, including collaborative law, lawyer-assisted mediation, arbitration, interest-based negotiation, and parenting coordination. Wanda&rsqu...
With over 30 years as a lawyer in Saskatoon, Connie is a skilled and practical advisor, supporting clients to navigate legal matters with ease in Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Real Estate and Small Business matters. Whether it is advising an executor, preparing wills, assisting with a real estate transaction or advising on a business startup, she values her relationship with her clients, responding promptly and directly and making their needs a priority. Connie is an experienced law...
A scholar, teacher and leader in the Alberta legal community, Rhoda I. Dobler’s practice spans two and half decades, and includes mediation, arbitration, collaborative law and litigation. Her positive attitude, compassion and creativity guide her conflict resolution approach, making her a valued mediator and arbitrator. An ardent believer in the importance of identifying new talent and mentoring junior lawyers, Rhoda teaches the Bar Admission (CPLED) course annually, and speaks at semin...
Isabelle Duval is a member of the Family, Personal and Estate Law group. She handles every aspect of family law, from divorce, separation, relocation and custody to child and spousal support. Isabelle holds a Juris Doctor in Common Law and a Master in Business Law from the Université de Montréal and has successfully argued many major cases, including longstanding cases, before the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal of Québec. She has developed expertise in divorces in...
The stakes in Family Law cases don’t get much higher: it takes a special lawyer to consistently win results at the highest level in Family Law. Jim Edney has been that kind of a lawyer for 30 years, earning him recognition as a Certified Specialist in Family Law by The Law Society of Ontario. Vision Praised by clients for his ability to “put things in perspective” and described by them as “incredibly diligent, fair and intelligent”, Jim advises on complex Family ...
I have practiced family law since 1998, and have provided collaborative law services for the past 15 years. I am one of the founding members of Collaborative Practice Manitoba and currently am on its Management Committee as well as serving as the Chair of the Membership Committee. I have taught at the Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba, as a sessional instructor since 2005. I currently teach the Clinical Family Law course and have done so since 2009. I am a frequent presenter at the Law S...
Divorce is one of the most difficult and stressful events anyone can experience. Lindsay’s passion is assisting people through this tumultuous experience in a manner that allows them to remain in control of their solution, minimize the conflict to which they and their children are exposed, preserve their assets and improve communication. Using mediation techniques tailored to client’s particular conflict level and matters in dispute, Lindsay maximizes the prospect for a mutually a...
Stephanie practices exclusively in the area of divorce and family law. She is a Parenting Coordinator, Arbitrator, Family Law Mediator and Collaborative Lawyer. Stephanie is committed to helping her clients transition through divorce in an amicable and non-adversarial way. Stephanie has extensive experience with complicated property and spousal and child support issues, as well as drafting complex marriage and cohabitation agreements. Her approach is child centered and facilitates the wellbei...
Emma Ferguson is a member of our Wills, Estates + Trusts Practice Group. Emma has a broad wills, estates and trusts practice. She advises clients on all aspects of estate and incapacity planning, including wills, alter ego, joint partner and family trusts, powers of attorney and healthcare representation agreements. Emma has experience assisting clients with disabilities or their family members with planning to protect government disability benefits and advises clients on adult guardianship m...
Kenneth A. Fishman is a partner with Boulby Weinberg LLP . He has dedicated his career to helping clients navigate the complexities of family law, providing compassionate and effective legal representation. With a deep understanding of the legal landscape and a commitment to achieving favourable outcomes, Ken has successfully handled a wide range of family law matters, including child and spousal support, property division, custody, and parenting time.
Herschel Fogelman is the founder and principal of Fogelman Law in Toronto. He has been named a Best Family Lawyer in Canada every year since the Best Lawyer rankings began. Herschel is also an experienced and highly sought after mediator and arbitrator, able to deftly navigate and settle complex and sensitive family law matters. Herschel is ranked as Consistently Recommended in the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. The directory, similar to Best Lawyers, is based on annual peer review surveys...
Patricia Fourcand, Ad.E., practices family law at the Montreal office of Fourcand, Tremblay, Kissel, Plante . She has a recognized expertise in family litigation with an international law component. She received the designation of Emeritus Lawyer from the Quebec Bar in 2021. Patricia has worked on complex cases, such as child abductions, the validity of foreign or religious marriages, as well as the multijurisdictional division of assets. Her representations as regards the rights of fathers w...
Experienced in all aspects of family law, Aaron’s clients trust him to recognize the unique complexities of their case and to provide practical solutions that work best for them not only now – but into the future. With extensive legal knowledge and a strategic mindset, he is equally effective at reaching creative, amicable resolutions through negotiation or mediation as he is advocating for his clients in court. As a partner at Epstein Cole, Aaron’s practice encompasses all ...
Brigitte Garceau is a senior partner in our Family Law Group. Her practice focuses on all aspects of divorce and separation, including child and spousal support, child custody, and parental plans, division of property, marriage contracts, family patrimony, matrimonial regimes, all aspects related to the separation between non-married partners, execution of a judgment and family mediation with a particular emphasis on complex cross-jurisdiction and international law cases. Brigitte has acted a...
As the principal of Heritage Law , Nicole Garton, TEP is a lawyer, mediator and parenting coordinator practicing in the areas of wills and estates and family law. As President of Heritage Trust , Nicole leads a regulated financial institution offering executor, trustee, power of attorney, escrow and multi-family office services on behalf of BC resident clients. Nicole is the Past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association Wills and Trusts Subsection (Vancouver). Nicole is a member the Society of E...
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