Family lawyers must understand how coercive control relates to the best interest of children. Upcoming amendments to the Divorce Act will require that family violence, including coercive controlling behaviours, be considered in this regard. Join us this February for what promises to be an informative and engaging two-day webinar series. Attendees will walk away with a greater understanding of the concept: how to recognize it in client narratives and how it impacts the trajectory of a file.
Co-chaired by John-Paul E. Boyd QC of John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers and Glenda Lux MA, R.Psych. of Lux Psychology, this interdisciplinary program presents the valuable insights of an experienced psychologist on coercive control and how it may manifest in the day-to-day practices of family law professionals. Coercive control often accounts for the sense in a file that “something isn’t right” – yet you cannot quite put your finger on where the dysfunction is, or how to frame it. Walk away with valuable information from senior family law lawyers on the pending amendments to the Divorce Act, the obligation to screen for family violence, and the tools available for that purpose.
Coercive Control and Family Violence
Day 1 – February 17, 2021
Day 2 – February 24, 2021
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (each day)
Price: $345 + GST
New Faculty Added
Co-Chairs
John-Paul E. Boyd QC, John-Paul Boyd Arbitration Chambers
Glenda Lux MA, R.Psych., Lux Psychology
Presenters
Wayne Barkauskas QC, Wise Scheible Barkauskas
Allison Mitic, Wise Scheible Barkauskas
Program Overview
Day 1: Understanding Coercive Control in the Context of Family Violence
This session will provide family law professionals with information they need to get a basic understanding of how this concealed, patterned, and harmful behaviour presents in family law disputes and discuss the impact of coercive control on the development of parenting plans. Attendees will explore the perils of subjective impressions, as well as areas where the legal system and the interventions it provides are vulnerable to misuse. Family Law lawyers will walk away with a framework to help identify the specific behaviours they can expect to see in cases of coercive control.
Day 2: Understanding the Legal Framework
This session provides an important refresher on the Protection Against Family Violence Act and a review of the amendments to the Divorce Act addressing family violence. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the tools available to deal with family violence in the context of family law disputes, the duty of litigators, mediators, arbitrators, and parenting coordinators to screen for family violence, the new federal screening questionnaire, and other means of assessing for the presence of family violence.
Registration includes both days.
