I’ve been a lawyer/mediator for most of my life, graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1978 and completing the first family mediation training in British Columbia in 1984. I am still a full-time member of the BC Bar and an accredited Family Law Dispute Resolution Professional, recognized by my peers as one of Canada’s Best Lawyers in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
I opened a general private practice in Vancouver the day I was called to the BC Bar, January 13, 1981, and have been shifting from legal work to mediation over the past decades.
My strong suits in mediation are my emotional IQ (I can read the room, even on Zoom) and my math skills. I am a quick study and can see the parties’ conflicting proposals from an eagle eye perspective, identifying the gaps between positions in ways which allow the parties to narrow the gaps and ultimately find a way to close them that works for both parties.
Over all these years of lawyering and mediating, I’ve managed to achieve a healthy work-life balance, focussed around family and friends, including animal friends, and beautiful British Columbia. I am continuing to provide mediation services because I believe I can still add value to an over-worked and over-priced family justice system.