biographical summaries of presenters€¦ · divorce, custody and access, property, support, and...
TRANSCRIPT
Biographical Summaries of Presenters
[Presented in alphabetical order]
March 6, 2017
11TH ANNUAL
Family Law Summit
Adam Black
Adam is a partner at Torkin Manes LLP in Toronto. Since his call to the bar in
2007, Adam has practised exclusively in all aspects of family law including
divorce, custody and access, property, support, and domestic contracts. Adam is
a member of the Ontario Bar Association’s Family Law Executive and Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity Community Forum (SOGIC). Adam regularly
appears in courts throughout the Greater Toronto Area, including the Ontario
Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for
Ontario. Adam graduated from Queen’s University, Faculty of Law in 2006.
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE GEORGE CZUTRIN The Honourable George Czutrin, Senior Judge of the Family Court, Superior Court of Justice (December 2013); Justice of the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) Toronto (January 2007); Justice of the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario), Hamilton Family Court (June 1993) ; Local Administrative Justice, Hamilton Family Court (1995 – 2006); Family Team Leader in Toronto, Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) (September 2009), LL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School, York University; (1976) called to Ontario Bar 1978; member Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics; director Ontario Superior Court Judges' Association (2001-2007); member of Family Rules Committee; Past Chair Chief Justice's Committee on the Unrepresented Litigant; past member of the Civil Justice Review Family Law Subcommittee and the Family Law Implementation Committee; Past President of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. Presenter at various educational programmes including: Canadian Bar Association; Law Society of Upper Canada; Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Conferences; National Family Law Programme Federal Law Societies; National Justice Institute; Educational Sessions of the Ontario Court (General Division) and the Superior Court of Justice; Alberta Provincial Judges Association; Osgoode Hall Law School Continuing Legal Education; Central South Superior Court Judges Seminars; and Canadian Judicial Council Members Annual Seminar. As a Lawyer: certified specialist in Family Law; past President of the Hamilton Law Association; past Instructor at Bar Admissions Course; past member of the Law Society of Upper Canada's Family Law Certification Committee and member of the Children's Lawyer's Child Representation Panel.
Curriculum Vitae
Philip M. Epstein, Q.C. LSM, Acc. F.M., Cert. F. Arb.
Senior Partner in the firm of EPSTEIN, COLE LLP, in Toronto. Mr. Epstein was the former Head of the Family Law Section of the Bar Admissions Course, 1983-1996; a Dispute Resolution Officer of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice; a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; Recipient of the 1998 Award of Excellence in Family Law from the Ontario Bar Association; Recipient of the 2012 Award of Excellence in Alternate Dispute Resolution from the Ontario Bar Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada Medal in 1999. Mr Epstein was a member of both the Child Support Guidelines Committee and the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines Committee of the Federal Department of Justice. He is the Co-Author and Editor-In-Chief - Separation Agreement Annotated, Editor-in-Chief of the Reports of Family Law (Carswell) and the author of the National Family Law News Letter “This Week in Family Law” (eCarswell). Mr. Epstein is a Certified Family Arbitrator by the ADR Institute and an Accredited Family Mediator by the Ontario Association for Family Mediation. Mr. Epstein carries on a very active practice in Mediation/Arbitration and lectures extensively throughout Canada to Continuing Education Programmes and the National Judicial Institute.
Marian Jacko, Children’s Lawyer of Ontario, is Ojibway from the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve, located on Manitoulin Island. Ms. Jacko is a proud mother of two daughters and a son. In 1993 she completed her undergraduate studies in Social Work (Native Human Services) at Laurentian University in Sudbury. In 1996 she completed the combined Master of Social Work and Law program at the University of Toronto. Following her call to the Ontario Bar in 1998, Ms. Jacko worked in the Property Rights Department of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. While working full time, Ms. Jacko completed her course work and thesis and in 2005, she received her Master of Laws degree in Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution. In April 2015, Ms. Jacko joined the Ministry of Attorney General as Legal Counsel to the Assistant Deputy Attorney General for the Indigenous Justice Division. In April 2016, Ms. Jacko was seconded to work with the Motherisk Commission as counsel to the Commissioner on Indigenous Issues.
Ms. Jacko has been very active within the Indigenous community, including serving on Board of Directors for non-profit organizations and advisory committees. In her spare time, Ms. Jacko is a rep hockey coach and is very involved with engaging Aboriginal youth in the sport of Hockey. Ms. Jacko volunteers with the Little Native Hockey League (Little NHL) executive and helped coach Team Ontario in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship 2016. Ms. Jacko is also the current President of the Mississauga Girls Hockey League.
Ms. MacCormac is a sole practitioner in Cobourg, Ontario. Upon being called to the Ontario bar in 2003, she moved from Bay Street to Main Street, where she is now in her 14th year of practising family law appearing regularly in the Superior Court of Justice. Ms. MacCormac is Co-Chair of the Combined Community Liaison and Resources Committee (CCLRC) for the Cobourg Family Court and the past President of the Northumberland County Law Association. Ms. MacCormac obtained her LL.B. from Queen’s University in Kingston. She obtained her B.A. in political science from University of Toronto, Erindale, attending at Carleton University in Ottawa for the first two years. Ms. MacCormac resides in the country just outside of Cobourg with her husband, Ron, step-daughter, Rachel, and golden retriever, Tucker.
Mary-Jo Maur practises family law in Kingston, Ontario as Counsel at Templeman, Menninga. Her practice includes family litigation, mediation/arbitration, and parenting coordination. She is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education Conferences. In addition to her practice, Mary-Jo is an Assistant Professor of Law at Queen’s University, Faculty of Law, where she teaches Torts, Family Law, Civil Procedure and Alternative Dispute Resolution, as well as serving as the Director of the Introduction to Lawyering Skills Program. She is the co-author, with Professor Berend Hovius, of the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law, of the 7th and 8th editions of Hovius on Family Law: Cases, Notes and Materials, Carswell 2009 and 2013, and the co-author of the upcoming Family Law: Cases, Notes & Materials, with Professor Nick Bala. Mary-Jo lives on a 40-acre farm outside Kingston with her human, equine, feline, and porcine companions.
Mary-Jo Maur Barrister & Solicitor Queen’s University
Faculty of Law Kingston ON
Daniel S. Melamed
Partner
Torkin Manes LLP Barristers & Solicitors
151 Yonge Street, Suite 1500 Toronto ON M5C 2W7 Tel: 416 863 1188 Fax: 416 863 0305
Tel: 416 777 5416 Fax: 1 888 587 9136
Email: [email protected]
Daniel is a partner in our Family Law Group. Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Family Law Specialist, he is also fully qualified as a family law mediator and arbitrator.
In addition, he is Preferred Counsel to The Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company, the insurance provider for
lawyers in the Province of Ontario, and is retained as counsel to defend family lawyers where negligence is claimed.
In matters of property, he has been involved in the valuation of multinational, privately held corporations, stock
options and senior executive pensions. In addition, Daniel has provided counsel regarding the forensic investigation
of hidden offshore assets. His practice includes complex custody and access issues involving blended and extended
families, including grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Joel Miller’s Biography
Joel has been practicing law since 1970 at all levels of the court, and doing only family law since the early 1980’s. He has practiced as a sole practitioner, and as a partner in both small and mid-sized firms, most recently as Chair of the Family Law section of Ricketts, Harris, a downtown Toronto law firm. He has been an instructor at the Ontario Bar Admission Course, spoken at the National Family Law Program and other conferences and events, and has been interviewed on radio and TV on topical family law matters. He was on the inaugural board of the Toronto Collaborative Family Law Association and has been a Dispute Resolution Officer in the Superior Court of Justice for over 12 years.
Joel has recently become concerned about the profession’s lack of response to the needs of family law litigants representing themselves in family court, and the lack of access to justice in a system where only the minority of those in court can afford a lawyer and the majority can’t find access to affordable services. He has created The Family Law Coach, (http://thefamilylawcoach.com) as a partial answer to this. This is Canada’s only exclusively online service dedicated to family law self-rep litigants, providing a suite of affordable, à la carte, fixed fee, services accessible by phone or email.
CONTACT INFORMATION
STEVE Z. RANOT, CPA, CAIFA, CBV
MARMER PENNER INC.
Business Valuators & Litigation Accountants 2 Bloor Street West, Suite 2603 Toronto, Ontario M4W 3E2 Tel: 416-961-5612 Fax: 416-961-6158 Website: www.marmerpenner.com E-Mail: [email protected] BACKGROUND
Steve Ranot is a chartered accountant, chartered business valuator and a designated specialist in investigation and forensic accounting. He has a B. Comm. from the University of Toronto (1986), graduated from the Canadian Securities Course (1986), completed the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants 3-year In-Depth Income Tax course (1990) and won the bronze medal in the CBV membership entrance exam (1993). He was admitted to partnership at Marmer Penner Inc. in 1996 and became the managing partner in 2008. AREAS OF PRACTICE
Mr. Ranot’s practice consists of a wide range of litigation support including income tax matters, business and securities valuation, income determination and damages quantification. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Mr. Ranot has testified in court as an expert witness in matters of business valuation, quantification of pecuniary damages, quantification of income, and income tax. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Mr. Ranot has written extensively in publications such as Money & Family Law, Matrimonial Affairs and Moneysense. He was also been the Toronto Sun’s tax columnist from 1990 to 2005. Mr. Ranot has spoken and lectured at many professional seminars including those conducted by The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators, The Law Society of Upper Canada, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, the National Family Law Programme, Federated Press, The Institute of Law Clerks of Ontario, numerous regional family law associations, the Marmer Penner Inc. family law seminars and courses on litigation and financial accounting for University of Toronto and Osgoode law students. For a complete curriculum vitae or to learn more about Marmer Penner Inc. please visit our website at www.marmerpenner.com.
Shawn Richard is the current President of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers, and was the former Director of Professional Development for CABL. Shawn is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, where he has been teaching Trial Advocacy since 2009.
Shawn has successfully represented clients in the Ontario Superior Court and the Ontario Court of Justice on various commercial and family law matters. Shawn also has recent publications in family law, including The Value of Date of Marriage Debt: Zavarella v. Zavarella, 2013 ONCA 720 and 34 Days, Two Experts and an Overnight: a Critique of M v F, 2013 ONSC 6089 and M. v. F., 2015 ONCA 277. His areas of practice include family, estates and civil litigation.
In 2013, Shawn acted as co-counsel for the Elliot Lake Mall Action Committee (ELMAC) at the Elliot Lake Inquiry, representing people injured physically and financially in the collapse of the Algo Centre Mall. Shawn currently practices family, estates and civil litigation at Lenkinski Law.
Avra Rosen Certified Specialist (Family Law) by Law Society of Upper Canada ph 416.214.1200 x22 fx 416.214.9040 e [email protected]
2 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 500, Toronto, ON M4V 1L5 rosensack.com
AVRA ROSEN - CURRICULUM VITAE Current Legal Activities
Certified Specialist (Family Law) by the Law Society of Upper Canada
Dispute Resolution Officer, Superior Court of Justice: July 1995 to 2015
Family Law Mediator & Arbitrator since 1988
Speaker and Lecturer at LSUC and OBA, including authoring many papers/articles
Member of AFCC, OAFM, OBA
Additional Training Since Call to Bar in 1987
January 2010, 2012, 2016: Completed 10 hours of domestic violence re-certification
January 2008: Completed domestic violence screening in compliance with the requirements of the Arbitration Act
October 2002: Completed Mediation Workshop, Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers
Fall 1997: Completed LSUC - Family Law Mediation Program Current Family Law Practice
Rosen Sack LLP – Senior Partner in Boutique Firm Practice exclusively devoted to family law, focusing on complex income, equalization and valuation issues, etc. Practice involves negotiation of disputes, as well as large litigation component, including trials, appellate matters, and provision of mediation and arbitration services to counsel and clients
Prior Legal Experience
Law Offices of Avra Rosen (1997 to 2016) – Owner of Family Law Boutique Firm
Feldman and Weisbrot (1989 to 1997) - Associate, Family Law
Teplitsky Colson (1987 to 1989) - Junior Lawyer, Civil Litigation and Family Law
Weir & Foulds (1985 to 1986) - Articles of Clerkship
Prior Legal Activities
Member of Executive of CBAO - Family Law Section: 1992 to 1998
Instructor, Bar Admission Course, Family Law: 1992 to 2003
Family Law Mentor, Practice Advisory, Law Society of Upper Canada, 1994 to 2000
First Year Student Mentor, Osgoode Hall Law School: 1992 to 2005
Education
Call to Ontario Bar April 9, 1987
Bar Admission Course, Osgoode Hall, Toronto, 1986 - 1987
Bachelor of Laws, Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, Ontario, June 1985
University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts, University College, 1981-1982
York University, Faculty of Arts, 1979 - 1981
Biographical Summaries of Presenters
[Presented in alphabetical order]
March 7, 2017
11TH ANNUAL
Family Law Summit
Christopher Arnold Chris is in his 22nd year of practice, since 2008 as a sole practitioner, and since 2009 he has not taken on any new litigation. For 9 years he has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law teaching an upper-year course in Collaborative Practice, where he enjoys de-programming young legal minds. He was a founder of Collaborative Practice Ottawa, a founding Board member of the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario, is a Past-President of the Ontario Collaborative Law Federation, and recipient of the James C. MacDonald award, the OCLF’s highest honour. He is passionate about helping others understand Collaborative practice and then join him in the Collaborative sandbox, so feel free to contact him via his office or Facebook or Twitter (@dreamitnowdoit).
Professor Nicholas (Nick) Bala
Prof. Bala is a leading Canadian expert on Family and Children’s Law. Much of his research is interdisciplinary, collaborating with psychologists and other social workers, psychologists and other social scientists to better understand the effect of involvement in the justice system on children, youth and families, and to help improve outcomes for children and parents. His work is often cited by scholars and judges from all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has been a Professor at the Faculty of Law at Queen's University since 1980, and since 2006 has also been the Academic Director of Family Law OPD LL.M. program at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto. His contributions to family law research and professional education were recognized in 2009 when he received the Law Society Medal and the Family Excellence Award of the Ontario Bar Association. In 2013 Prof. Bala was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
Rachel Birnbaum is a Professor cross-appointed in Childhood & Social Institutions (Interdisciplinary Studies) & Social Work at King’s University College at Western University, London, Ontario. She has over 25 years of clinical practice experience working with children and families involved in separation and/or divorce. Her research focus is on interdisciplinary scholarship about children’s participation post separation, child legal representation, and access to justice in family law disputes. She is the 2014 recipient of the Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award; the 2016 recipient of the Hugh Mellon Distinguished Research Award, and a 2016 member of the College of the Royal Society of Canada. She was the President of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers for 4 years, the President of the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators for 2 years, and the President of AFCC-Ontario, 2015-2016.
John-Paul Boyd John-Paul Boyd is the executive director of the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family at the University of Calgary, a member of the bars of British Columbia and Alberta, and a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. Before joining the Institute in 2013, John-Paul spent fourteen years in private practice in Vancouver, serving as a litigator, arbitrator, mediator, parenting coordinator and children’s counsel in family law disputes. John-Paul teaches family law at the University of Calgary and is a frequent speaker on family law topics for the National Judicial Institute, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, the National Family Law Program and other legal and community groups. His written work has been published by the UBC Law Review, Canadian Family Law Quarterly, the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, the federal Department of Justice, the National Judicial Institute and the Nova Scotia Department of Justice. He is a member of the advisory boards of the Canadian Journal of Family Law and the Alberta Legal Information Society, and is a member of the International Society of Family Law.
Phil Brown Counsel, Professional Development and Competence Law Society of Upper Canada 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 2N6
Background Phil graduated from Dalhousie University with a B.Sc. (Hon) and an LLB. He was called to the Bar in Nova
Scotia in 1985 and Ontario in 1989. He also holds a post-graduate certificate from Centennial College in
e-commerce.
Areas of Practice and Experience Phil practised criminal law exclusively as a sole practitioner before joining Legal Aid Ontario as the
Coordinator of Lawyer Relations. He was responsible for marketing the Legal Aid Online billing project
which automated lawyer payments. The project had a 90% uptake by lawyers within the first 6 months.
He joined the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2008 as Counsel in the Professional Development and
Competence department and has been involved in CPD planning, accreditation, and certified specialist
certification. He participates in developing resources for solos and small firm lawyers and for the past
five years has worked on the Practice Management Helpline team assisting lawyers with issues related
to the Law Society By-laws, Rules of Professional Conduct and professionalism questions. He is also
working on a series of technology podcasts with David Whelan.
Professional Activities He is currently a member of the Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association and is the Photo Editor of “For The
Defence” magazine.
He is a presenter at continuing professional development programs and has spoken at the American Bar
Association, Criminal Lawyers Association, Hamilton Law Association, Toronto Lawyers Association, and
Law Society programs. He has been a lecturer and instructor in the professional responsibility course
and the Professional Conduct and Practice in Ontario course.
BRIAN J. BURKE
BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY
Brian is a partner at Epstein Cole LLP. He attended Trinity College at the University of Toronto for undergraduate studies and then Osgoode Hall Law School.
Brian started his career by summering, articling, and then briefly practisingcorporate and commercial law at the firm Torys in Toronto. After that he practisedtax law for several years at the firm Thorsteinssons in Toronto. Brian then decided,over a decade ago, to pursue a career in family law, and he has been with Epstein Cole since 2004.
Brian is involved in various family law justice initiatives, committees, and educational programming. He is a member of the Ontario Court of Justice-Superior Court of Justice Assessments Task Force and for the past three years he has been a member of the organization committee of the Walsh Family Law Negotiation Competition. Brian is a director of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (Ontario Chapter), and he serves as Secretary of the Board of that organization. Brian is regularly invited by various professional organizations to speak to audiences on both substantive and professionalism legal topics.
Stan Jaskot is a partner in the Burlington law firm of Jaskot Family Law Barristers LLP. Stan is a passionate advocate for his clients with over forty years of experience of litigating at all levels of Court in Ontario, including the Superior Court, Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Stan excels in the courtroom setting and is a skillful advocate. Stan started his legal career at Agro, Zaffiro et al in 1975 and was admitted to the partnership in 1978. In 1997, Stan established the family law firm of Harper Jaskot, together with R. John Harper, until the firm’s dissolution on October 24, 2006, coinciding with the appointment of R. John Harper as a judge of the Family Court, Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The firm continued on as Jaskot Family Law. Stan became certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a specialist in family law in 1992. Stan has been published in the Canadian Family Law Quarterly and continues to be actively involved in continuing education programs as a presenter for the Ontario Bar Association, Law Society of Upper Canada, Osgoode Professional Development, Halton County Law Association, and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.
Kelly D. Jordan, Jordan Battista LLP Barristers and Solicitors 1000-160 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario Tel (416) 203-2899 - Fax (416) 203-7949 Email : [email protected] Web: www.jordanbattista.com Partner with Jordan Battista LLP in Toronto, Ontario. Practices in the areas of family law, wills and estate planning, and assisted reproductive technologies. Certified as a Specialist in Family Law by the Law Society of Upper Canada. Particular expertise in family law issues pertaining to the gay and lesbian community and assisted human reproduction. Fellow of the American Academy of Assisted Reproductive Technology Attorneys. Co-counsel on Baker v. Francis (1999) and Miglin v. Miglin (2002) before the Supreme Court of Canada. Past Chair of the Ontario Bar Association, Family Law Section. Fellow of the Past Chair of the National Family Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. Member of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. Past Chair of the Family Law Advisory Committee to the Board of Legal Aid Ontario. Editor of the “Family Law Series” of pamphlets for Community Legal Education Ontario. Former member of the Board of Directors of the AIDS Committee of Toronto and the HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario. Frequent lecturer and author on issues pertaining to family and fertility law. Co-author of Canadian Family and Immigration Law in 2015 for Carswell. Contributing author to Property Rights and Obligations Under Ontario Family Law in 2012 for Canada Law Book. Contributing editor to Wilson on Children and Law for Lexis Nexis on assisted reproduction. Named as one of the Best Lawyers in Canada and as a Lexpert. Graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School 1993. Called to the Ontario Bar 1995.
Gary Joseph leads our Family Law Practice of MacDonald & Partners LLP as Partner and Chair. Gary is an experienced practitioner. He is a Certified Specialist in Family Law. Called to the Ontario Bar (1978) - Member of Alberta Bar, (1985). He has a Master’s degree in Constitutional Law.
Gary has been reported in over 250 Family Law decisions at all Court levels in Ontario and Alberta. He has appeared as Counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada. Member of Alternative Dispute's leading trial and appeal counsel. Past Family Law Instructor, Ontario Bar Admission course. Author, Handling a Family Law Matter in Ontario and Family Law Litigation Handbook (Ontario and Alberta). Co-Author, Family Law Arbitration in Canada. Co-Author of Carswell’s Family Law Memorandum Service and recently signed a contract with Carswell to co-author a new book on Custody Law in Canada. Author of numerous articles on Family Law in various professional and public media, including an article in the Huffington Post titled "Marriage and divorce attitudes: tidal wave of change." Gary is a regular contributor to Advocate Daily. Top 50 Family Law lawyers in Canada, as noted by Lawday an international publication.
Gary is an active and involved family man with four grown children and one grandchild. He and his wife Audrey love to travel and golf in their spare time.
Mary-Jo Maur practises family law in Kingston, Ontario as Counsel at Templeman, Menninga. Her practice includes family litigation, mediation/arbitration, and parenting coordination. She is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education Conferences. In addition to her practice, Mary-Jo is an Assistant Professor of Law at Queen’s University, Faculty of Law, where she teaches Torts, Family Law, Civil Procedure and Alternative Dispute Resolution, as well as serving as the Director of the Introduction to Lawyering Skills Program. She is the co-author, with Professor Berend Hovius, of the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law, of the 7th and 8th editions of Hovius on Family Law: Cases, Notes and Materials, Carswell 2009 and 2013, and the co-author of the upcoming Family Law: Cases, Notes & Materials, with Professor Nick Bala. Mary-Jo lives on a 40-acre farm outside Kingston with her human, equine, feline, and porcine companions.
Mary-Jo Maur Barrister & Solicitor Queen’s University
Faculty of Law Kingston ON
Daniel S. Melamed
Partner
Torkin Manes LLP Barristers & Solicitors
151 Yonge Street, Suite 1500 Toronto ON M5C 2W7 Tel: 416 863 1188 Fax: 416 863 0305
Tel: 416 777 5416 Fax: 1 888 587 9136
Email: [email protected]
Daniel is a partner in our Family Law Group. Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Family Law Specialist, he is also fully qualified as a family law mediator and arbitrator.
In addition, he is Preferred Counsel to The Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company, the insurance provider for
lawyers in the Province of Ontario, and is retained as counsel to defend family lawyers where negligence is claimed.
In matters of property, he has been involved in the valuation of multinational, privately held corporations, stock
options and senior executive pensions. In addition, Daniel has provided counsel regarding the forensic investigation
of hidden offshore assets. His practice includes complex custody and access issues involving blended and extended
families, including grandparents, aunts and uncles.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Craig Perkins
Short Biographical Note
Personal Born January 2, 1947 in Toronto. Married, one child. Lifelong resident of Toronto, except 1968-69 lived in Toulouse, France. Languages: English, French, some Spanish, a little German. A lifelong baseball fan and since 1977 a Blue Jays season ticket holder. Education Leaside High School, Toronto. University of Toronto, B.A. 1968 in French, Spanish and History. English assistant at Lycée Bellevue, Toulouse, France 1968-69. University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Ll.B. 1972. Admitted to Ontario bar in 1974. Professional Articled and junior lawyer (banking, civil litigation) with Blake, Cassels and Graydon 1972-75. Joined Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Policy Development Division in 1975. Major projects included work on the Marriage Act (1977), Succession Law Reform Act (1977), Unified Family Court Act and rules of the Unified Family Court (1977), Family Law Reform Act (1978), rules of the Provincial Court (Family Division) (1978), Courts of Justice Act (1984), Rules of Civil Procedure (1985), Family Law Act (1986), Support and Custody Orders Enforcement Act (1986), Ontario Courts Inquiry (Zuber Report, 1987), Courts of Justice Amendment Act, 1989 (court reform), Courts of Justice Amendment Act, 1994 (Family Court expansion). Member of the Civil Rules Committee 1981-95 and of its permanent secretariat 1984-2005. Member of the Provincial Court (Family Division) Rules Committee 1978-1990, Unified Family Court Rules Committee 1975-90 and Family Rules Committee (and its permanent secretariat) 1990-2001. Appointed as a judge of the Family Court of the Superior Court of Justice August 1, 1995. Served in Simcoe County 1995-99, in York Region 1999-2010, and in Toronto 2010-17. A founding member of AFCC Ontario Chapter and a member of AFCC (Association of Family and Conciliation Courts) since 2000.
Joanna Radbord is a partner with the firm of Martha McCarthy & Company LLP in Toronto.
Her practice focuses on family law and constitutional litigation. In 2008, Joanna was
awarded the Canadian Bar Association Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Conference
Hero Award for her contributions to LGBTTQ communities.
Joanna has been involved in the leading cases expanding legal recognition for LGBTQ
families including spousal status for same-sex couples, equal marriage, trans parenting, birth
registration, and three parent recognition. Joanna was counsel to the LGBTQ applicants in
Grand v. Ontario. She negotiated an interim order in which the Attorney General conceded
the unconstitutionality of the Children’s Law Reform Act. Joanna then worked extensively
with government and stakeholders on Bill 28, The All Families are Equal Act, which
reconceptualises parentage in Ontario.
Joanna has been intervener counsel in numerous equality cases, and she has served as a
McMurtry Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Douglas Rienzo, Partner, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Toronto, Canada Douglas practises exclusively in the area of pensions and employee benefits, with a particular focus on pension surplus issues and family law issues related to pensions. He has done work for corporate sponsors of pension plans, boards of trustees, and large institutional pension funds, as well as for individual pension plan members. Douglas has also provided legal advice regarding corporate governance and pension plan governance, including advising boards of directors on their fiduciary responsibilities. Douglas was recently recognized by Chambers Canada: Canada’s Leading Lawyers for Business, 2017, in the area of Pensions & Benefits and Executive Compensation. His article “Trust Law and Access to Pension Surplus” was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in one of the few pension law cases to be decided by that court: Buschau v. Rogers Communications. As the Chair of Osler’s Diversity Committee since its inception in 2010, Douglas is responsible for guiding and supervising all diversity and inclusion initiatives at the firm, in its offices across Canada and in the United States.
The Honourable Mr. Justice Robert Spence
Appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice in 2002. Presided as a criminal and family judge for 4 years.
Since 2006, has presided at 47 Sheppard Avenue, dealing with child protection and family/domestic
cases.
D.A. ROLLIE THOMPSON, Q.C. Professor, Dalhousie Law School (now Schulich School of Law), since 1982 (full professor since 1992). Executive Director, Dalhousie Legal Aid Service, 1982-85 and 1991-94. Recipient of Dalhousie Law Alumni Association and Dalhousie Law Students Society Award for Teaching Excellence 2001-02 and of the Vincent J. Pottier Award for Exceptional and Outstanding Contribution to Dalhousie Legal Aid Service (awarded in 2005). Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2011. Recipient of Award for Teaching Excellence in the Osgoode Professional Ll.M. 2016. Editor of the Canadian Family Law Quarterly. Co-director (with Prof. Carol Rogerson), Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines Project, Department of Justice Canada 2001-2008. On sabbatical 2006-07 at University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, taught Evidence. Also teaches Child and Spousal Support course at Osgoode Hall Law School, Osgoode Professional Development, Family Law Ll.M. (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015). Associate at Kitz, Matheson, Green & MacIsaac, Halifax, 1980-82. Member of N.S. Bar since 1980. Clerk to Justice Brian Dickson, Supreme Court of Canada, 1978-79. Ll.B. (Dalhousie, 1978); B.A. (Hons. Economics & Political Science) (McGill, 1971). Teaching subjects: Family Law, Evidence, Civil Procedure, Supreme Court (Family Division) Placement, Clinical Law.
GERRI L. WONG - Proud graduate of the University of Windsor Law School - Appointed to Ontario Court of Justice (Chatham) in 2014 - Before appointment had family law practice in Windsor including
Child Protection and Children’s Lawyer work; accredited family mediator; sessional instructor at the Windsor Law School ( Family, Civil Trial Advocacy, Dispute Resolution, Ethics and Professionalism, Child Protection and Mediation Coach)
- Member of AFCC since 2009, currently President of AFCC-O