Best Lawyers in Canada for Family Law Mediation
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Gary S. Joseph is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Gary S., who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Gary S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Sarah is a family lawyer with more than a decade of experience helping clients find solutions for challenging situations. She provides timely and practical advice and is equally able to assist clients with cohabitation agreements, marriage contracts, parenting plans, property division and support arrangements. She also frequently acts for third parties drawn into family law litigation. Sarah prides herself on understanding her clients’ unique goals and circumstances, and on providing st...
Sandy Vander Ziel joined Dunphy Best Blocksom LLP in 2013 and practices exclusively in family law. She is a registered collaborative lawyer, mediator and arbitrator, as well as a dispute resolution officer with the Court of King’s Bench. She has practiced in the area of family law at local and national law firms since 2002. Sandy has significant experience with a variety of methods of Alternate Dispute Resolution including Collaborative law, lawyer assisted mediation, arbitration and in...
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.
Élisabeth Pinard is the partner who coordinates the firm's Family law, personal law, and estate law group. She acts primarily as litigator in complex divorce cases as well as in private international law, inheritance disputes, and elder law. She is also a certified mediator. Ms. Pinard also acts as counsel to accounting and valuation firms on the legal impact of marital breakdown in matters of succession, business transfers, protective trusts, and the valuation of private corporations....
George is a partner with Thomson Rogers and his practice is devoted to litigation with an emphasis on matrimonial litigation and matters involving commercial disputes. George has co-authored a number of articles for use in continuing legal education seminars and is a regular contributor speaker at continuing legal education seminars having spoken at seminars conducted by the Law Society of Ontario, the National Judicial Institute, Osgoode Professional Development and the Advocates’ Soci...
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 ...
Awatif Lakhdar has been a member of the Family Law, personal law, and estate law group since May 2014. Called to the Barreau du Québec in 2002, she has been in private practice for more than a decade. Her primary area of practice is private international law, and she frequently pleads before all levels of the Quebec courts, including the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court. She is also a certified mediator. Ms. Lakhdar has participated in seminars and conferences...
Brahm is a senior partner at Nathens, Siegel, LLP, a family law and divorce boutique firm with offices in Toronto and Mississauga. Brahm received his Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from McGill University in 1990, his law degree from Queen’s University Faculty of Law in 1993, and was called to the Bar in 1995. Certified as a Specialist in Family Law by the Law Society since 2008, Brahm co-authored McLeod’s Ontario Family Law Rules Annotated for ten years and is the consu...
A senior member of the Family Law bar and a senior partner in our Family Law Group, Lorne’s practice includes all aspects of family law, including divorce, custody and access, property, support, and domestic contracts. He conducts litigation before every level of court in Ontario, as well as providing mediation and arbitration services. He also acts as counsel to lawyers and accountants addressing family law concerns that arise in business, wills and estates, and personal financial plan...
Suzanne H. Pringle is a seasoned litigator with over 38 years of experience pleading before courts of all jurisdictions, including the Superior Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. After having practiced banking and insolvency law within a renowned firm in Montreal for the first 5 years of her career as an attorney, Suzanne founded her own firm in 1988. Since then, she focuses her practice solely on family law matters. Suzanne’s firm has built its reputation in th...
Heather L. Hansen, C.S. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Family Law Mediation. Heather L., who practices law in Toronto, Ontario, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Heather L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
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...
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...
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...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.