If you do child protection work, conducting a trial at least once if not multiple times in your career is inevitable. I just spent the last two weeks again mired in a child protection trial. It was stimulating, interesting, challenging work. Evidence was examined, witnesses questioned, and evidentiary arguments made.... read more →
Mar
03
Jan
27
Although a well-known option in criminal law, many counsel and clients are unaware that in certain very specific circumstances, a court may order the Ministry of the Attorney General to pay for the costs of a lawyer to represent the parent in child welfare proceedings. Often, courts will make such... read more →
Jan
01
As a new year is upon us, I have had some time to reflect about my practice and new resolutions for the next year. One of the things I have challenged myself to think about is how to reconcile the two seemingly disparate parts of my practice, namely, my highly... read more →
Dec
19
The Honourable Justice Susan Lang released her Independent Review of the Motherisk Drug Testing Laboratory yesterday. The full report can be downloaded here. The report, simply put, is damning. Justice Susan Lang found that between 2005 and 2015, the Laboratory produced results that were neither adequate nor reliable. The Laboratory... read more →
Oct
27
Some of the most common questions I get come from clients who have “harassing” former spouses. Their frequent questions: “How long do I have to put up with my former spouse? Why are they calling every day? Can I get them to stop? Will a judge to anything to help... read more →
Aug
25
Recently, while conducting a consultation, I told the client that it would be preferable if his spouse could retain a “good lawyer”. He immediately responded with “well, shouldn’t she have a BAD lawyer?” I found this statement puzzling. As a lawyer, I internally groan when a bad lawyer is on... read more →
Aug
14
Although common in matrimonial court cases, it is a rare phenomenon for legal costs to be awarded against the Children's Aid Society in child welfare cases. This is because in order to protect children, the children's aid societies must be able to do its work without the threat of costs hanging... read more →
Jun
14
I recently read an interesting article on The Globe and Mail titled “A divorce coach could offer a calming perspective”. The article describes the growing phenomenon of using “divorce coaches” or “divorce doulas” to emotionally assist clients in their divorce and separation. It notes that clients are often better prepared... read more →
Jun
07
The last week of moving mayhem has taught me that planning any major change is so important. Although we had planned our move, there were still unexpected problems that came up. We were able to solve those problems, but had we not had a plan, things would have been much... read more →
May
29
The big day has arrived and I have moved into our new office space at 197 Spadina Ave. I am very excited about our new space and want to share a little bit about it with you. I picked our offices because of its location at the center of a vibrant... read more →