Family law practice can be hard. Lawyers must navigate the law, including legislative amendments and common law changes, changes to court procedure, clients with their own issues (not all of them legal ones), the challenges of carrying on a business/practice, and so on. On top of this, many family law clients deal with trauma and this can affect lawyers. These on-demand programs explore these “collateral issues” that family law practitioners face. The total running time for each presentation ranges between 1 hour, 20 minutes and 1 hour, 30 minutes.

More and more family law clients and lawyers are turning to arbitration as an alternative to the courts. This presentation examines what an arbitrator can and cannot do, enforcement of awards, how the various provisions of the Arbitration Act intersect, and how to develop strong arbitration advocacy. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program on December 1, 2023 as part of our Collateral Issues in Family Law program.  Total running time is 1 hour, 27 minutes.

More and more family law clients and lawyers are turning to arbitration as an alternative to the courts. While many benefits exist, constraints and limits also exist. Part 1 of the paper explores various provisions of the Arbitration Act, including how they intersect and influence each other, and how the judiciary has interpreted them. Part 2 focuses on the intersection of the arbitration process and the limited jurisdiction of the court. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Collateral Issues in Family Law program in Calgary on December 1, 2023.

It is becoming increasingly common to have clients who are self-employed, which comes with unique considerations when dealing with matrimonial property division. This paper explores important considerations and practical steps for family law lawyers to employ when advising clients with corporate or business interests in matrimonial property division matters. It provides an overview of business structures and steps to follow when gathering disclosure. It also highlights general principles regarding financial disclosure as well as commonly encountered issues in obtaining corporate financial disclosure. Finally, the paper discusses how to deal with financial disclosure once it is obtained, including methods for valuing a business. This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Business Issues in Family Law Matters program in Calgary on January 17, 2018 and in Edmonton on January 24, 2018.

Don’t fear the prenup. Instead, see it as a means of protecting your client by ensuring that his or her intentions and desires are reduced to writing.  These authors take a look at the questions relating to these agreements, including: When can a prenup be beneficial? What are its restrictions, limitations and grey areas? What about when the parties live together before marrying? How can a prenup be challenged after the fact? This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Domestic Contracts program in October and November, 2015.