Unfortunately, due to the limited hours in Legal Aid Ontario family certificates and the added complexity in property cases (which increases substantially the hours required in a family case with property issues), we do not accept Legal Aid Ontario certificates in family law cases involving property. We are clear, here, that we only accept Legal Aid Ontario cases for family law cases at the Ontario Court of Justice, not the Superior Court of Justice. (Property cases are only heard at the Superior Court of Justice, not the Ontario Court of Justice).

For cases in court where you do not have a Legal Aid Ontario certificate, we do not offer full representation (that is, being your lawyer of record) in your court case. We do offer “unbundled family law services” where there is a clear limit on where we are involved in your case (for example, to prepare specifically for a next court date or to assist you in completing court documents), where the details are specified in an agreement between us. We invite you to contact us about how we can be involved through unbundled family law services for your court case.

No, we do not at this time accept Legal Aid Ontario certificates for criminal cases involving indictable offences. Our focus at this time is summary offences. Summary offences are minor, with lighter punishments handled quickly in lower courts (Ontario Court of Justice), compared to indictable offences.

For cases in court where you do not have a Legal Aid Ontario certificate, we do not provide full representation (that is, being your lawyer of record) in your court case. We do offer “unbundled family law services” where there is a clear limit on where we are involved in your case (for example, to prepare specifically for a next court date), where the details are specified in an agreement between us. We invite you to contact us about how we can be involved.

Yes. In fact, our preference is on out-of-court cases for family law cases. We focus primarily on out-of-court solutions with an emphasis (when possible) on the collaborative practice process. We also offer mediation. See below for more information about collaborative practice and mediation.

The hourly rate for our main lawyer is $300/hour. We are prepared to reduce this rate by up to 50% based on your low income (if you do not qualify for a Legal Aid Ontario certificate) and/or based on other financial circumstances. The expectation will be clear in an agreement between us that payment is expected immediately upon providing a service. Our business model does not include a large retainer. However, this agreement between us (for cases without a Legal Aid Ontario certificate) will be clear that payment is expected immediately upon providing a service and that no further services will be provided if your payments are not fully made immediately.

No. Our business model does not include a large retainer or even a retainer at all. However, an agreement between us (for cases without a Legal Aid Ontario certificate) will be clear that payment is expected immediately upon providing a service and that no further services will be provided if your payments are not fully made immediately.

Yes. In fact, our preference is meeting online through Zoom (or sometimes other online tools such as Teams or FaceTime if Zoom is unavailable for you). We also use DocuSign as our main tool for signing documents online. Meeting online allows us to meet at mutually convenient times. If it is necessary to meet in person, we use an office space in downtown Kitchener.

Yes. In fact, in trying to make ourselves available for court attendances and meetings with other lawyers during regular business hours, we schedule some meetings during evenings and weekends. If you work during regular business hours, for example, you can expect that meetings with you will be in the evenings and/or weekends.