Effective chambers advocacy is critical in a family law practice. These on-demand programs will explore issues that often arise in family law chambers and help lawyers develop strategies to address them. These on-demand programs were originally presented on January 28, 2025. The total running time for each presentation ranges between 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Explore a child’s right to be heard in judicial proceedings, the role of the child’s counsel, qualifications to become a child’s counsel, the court application process, appointments and retainers, and expectations and limitations of a child’s counsel. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program titled Family Law Chambers and Practice Pointers on January 28, 2025.  Total running time is 1 hour, 4 minutes.

Explore how to navigate parenting or divorce matters when Child and Family Services  (sometimes unexpectedly) becomes involved. These on-demand programs will help you to (1) navigate the initial involvement of CFS, (2) gather recent and past CFS information you may require in a parenting or variation application, and (3) represent a client filing a private guardianship application where the children are in the care of CFS. The total running time for each presentation ranges between 40 minutes and 1 hour, 5 minutes.

Explore topics related to representing children. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program on May 26, 2022. Total running time for each presentation ranges between 37 minutes to 1 hour, 38 minutes. Each presentation in this program is available for individual purchase.

Business issues frequently arise in family law matters, but some family lawyers may find themselves struggling to understand them or advance their clients’ interests. This on-demand program explores topics such as disclousre, financial statements, business valuations, tax, and shareholder remedies.

Applications for, and the involvement of, independent legal counsel for children have become increasingly common in both the Court of King’s Bench and the Court of Justice. This paper explores a child’s right to be heard in judicial proceedings, the role of the child’s counsel, qualifications to become a child’s counsel, the court application process, appointments and retainers, expectations and limitations of a child’s counsel, and the role of a child’s counsel in mediation and arbitration. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Family Law Chambers and Practice Pointers program in Edmonton on January 28, 2025.

This paper addresses aspects of the Alberta Child, Youth, and Family Enhancement Act (CYFEA), including the responsibilities of the Ministry of Child and Family Services and the Director, the roles of Family and Surrogate Court Litigation (FASCL) and Court Coordinators, principles that guide the interpretation and administration of the CYFEA, agreements with the Director, supervision orders, apprehension orders, temporary guardianship orders (TGOs) and permanent guardianship orders (PGOs), private guardianship, administrative reviews, and pertinent forms. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Child Protection Issues in Family Law Matters program on January 19, 2024.