A Model Court Experience
Harvey and Jane had a good marriage for 31 years, but over time they both changed, and their relationship broke down. Each went to a top family law lawyer. They were not able to resolve a lot of their property and spousal support issues, so Jane had to start a court proceeding. They had amassed […]
Family Courts in Ontario and How They Work
If you live together with another person in a romantic relationship of any kind, you may find yourself in Family Court if that relationship breaks down. According to statistics kept by the Department of Justice, Canada, in Ontario in the fiscal year of 2022 to 2023, 45,170 family law cases were commenced in the Superior […]
Thoughts on Mediation vs. Court in Parenting Disputes
In a reported fairly recent decision, (W.S. v. P.I.A. [2022] O.J. No. 11) following a lengthy trial in the Superior Court of Ontario, the mother and father filed documents with the court which showed that they had spent a total between them of $1,552,987 in legal fees. This figure did not include the fees of […]
Evaluative or Interest Based Mediation
If you want your family law or estate litigation dispute resolved, then mediation can be a fast, cost effective and creative way to do so. However, everyone involved should consider whether an evaluative or interest-based approach is better (or maybe a combination of the two). To understand why, it’s important to understand the differences in […]
Top Three Reasons Why You Should Consider a Mediated Divorce
Here are our top three reasons why you should consider a mediated divorce: You get to choose the right mediator for your situation, someone with expertise in the area which is causing you conflict and someone who can offer ideas, share experience and facilitate a conversation between you and the opposing party which leads to […]
What is Mediation and Why Do I Need to Know?
Both mediation and arbitration are methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR for short. The role of courts since inception has been “dispute resolution”, so why the need for an “Alternative”? The answer is because the court system does indeed work in theory, but rarely in practice. The courts are hopelessly backlogged. “Hopeless” because what […]
Mediation: Benefits and Techniques
Over several decades, mediation has proved to be a viable alternative to the traditional litigation process. Mediation offers a variety of benefits to parties involved in legal disputes. These benefits unequivocally ameliorate the situations parties find themselves in when pursuing a legal matter. The mediation process offers a vast range of techniques which can be […]
The Top Five Things You Should Know About Mediation
It is a civil and respectful method meant to resolve conflicts whether between two people or many people no matter what the type of conflict. Conflict is and will always be part of human nature. Many parties can and do resolve daily conflicts between themselves. Common examples where mediators often offer assistance: employer conflicts with […]
The Mediator Who Tells You Who Will Win And Who Will Lose Does You No Favours
It seems counter-intuitive, but the mediator who comes into the mediation early on to tell the parties who will win and who will lose is not doing evaluative mediation. That mediator is playing judge. More often than not, it’s an occupational hazard for experienced mediators who do it for a living. Why does it happen? […]
