During the pandemic, access to the courts remains critical for families and child protection litigants in the family court system. On July 6, 2020, courts across the province began the process of physically reopening. While the reopening looks different in every courthouse, all courts in the Superior Court of Justice... read more →
Jul
30
Mar
24
Coronavirus and Family Law: What You Need to Know Across Ontario, COVID-19 has left a major impact on individuals and their families. If you are in the midst of a separation or divorce, if you are co-parenting your children, or if you are working with a Children’s Aid Society, that... read more →
Aug
01
It has been a busy year for appeals at our office. Since our last adventure to the Supreme Court of Canada in November 2017, we have been retained or consulted on several family, child protection, and criminal law appeals. These experiences have led me to strongly believe in what I... read more →
Jul
16
I very proud to announce that Katherine Long has joined the firm as a lawyer. Katherine has impeccable academic credentials and experience litigating (and settling) high-conflict family law cases. Her previous experiences include working at a Bay Street firm practicing in family law, experience at the Office of the Children’s... read more →
Jun
06
Most readers of my blog will know that I believe that family law cases should settle, that we should make use of out of court processes in pursuit of settlement, and that in fact most of the time settlement happens outside of court. So it might come as a surprise... read more →
Apr
21
The Supreme Court released its decision in our case, the Office of the Children’s Lawyer vs. Balev today. I am glad to report that a majority of the Supreme Court adopted our submissions entirely and made significant changes to the interpretation of the concept of “habitual residence” under the Hague... read more →
Feb
27
After 2 years, and the review of more than 1200 cases, the Motherisk Commission came out with its report yesterday. The Report is required reading for everyone who has any role to play in child welfare - social workers, lawyers, courts, litigants. It describes a system that is dysfunctional, unfair,... read more →
Jan
01
It's December 31, a good day to take stock of everything that has happened in my professional life this last year. Looking back, I can say that 2017 was a year of achievements and challenges for me. Some of the highlights: Supreme Court adventure. - In November, I made my first... read more →
Dec
05
Consistent with its stated purpose of keeping children with families, the Child and Family Services Act allows for, and in some cases encourages, placement of children with kin caregivers. When the Society considers a kin caregiver, it will assess that placement using a rigorous set of criteria to ensure that... read more →
Oct
07
It has been a busy few months for me. One of the projects I have been working on is an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on the definition of "habitual residence" under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. Hague Convention cases are among the... read more →