Choosing a lawyer to represent you and your family can seem like an intimidating task – especially if you don’t know what to expect or what questions to ask. Three of Toronto’s top family lawyers provide their insight on what to expect when retaining their firms and how family law in particular has changed throughout the pandemic.
Allison Hines
Hines Legal Professional Corporation
Allison Hines is the founding partner of Hines Legal Professional Corporation. Her practice is centered in family law, while also providing advice regarding wills and estates planning. Allison has ample experience with complex, high conflict, and high net worth cases. In addition to her legal practice, Allison is also a professor at Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Ryerson University.
What can someone expect if they retain you/your firm?
When retaining Hines Legal Professional Corporation, clients can expect competence, customer service, and value with respect to their family and wills & estates law matters. We have a team of highly trained and skilled professionals who listen to what is important to our clients so that we can understand their objectives and concerns. We understand clients have complex and sensitive issues that need to be addressed in a timely, respectful, and compassionate manner. Regardless of their family or wills & estates matter, the lawyers at Hines Legal Professional Corporation strive to provide clients with peace of mind knowing that they have the backing of a competent and experienced legal team.
Moreover, hiring a lawyer can sometimes be a costly affair, so reducing costs while maintaining quality is crucial. At Hines Legal Professional Corporation, we have harnessed the benefits of modern day technologies, which allow for quick and easy access to legal services. We operate completely online using a secure cloud-based network. This allows us to reduce the amount of time and cost required to handle cases and eliminate any unnecessary expenses. This is just one aspect of our business model that “trims the fat” from our operating expenses so clients can expect to reap the financial benefits of an efficiently run firm, while still receiving quality service.
Alexandra Carr
Lenkinski, Carr & Richard LLP is a litigation boutique that specializes in all aspects of family law and estates litigation. Alex’s broad practice includes high conflict parenting issues and complex financial matters. While focused on resolutions, she is a strategic litigator. She is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers with experience in jurisdictional issues and Hague convention cases.
How has practicing family law changed throughout the pandemic?
There was a period during the lockdown where marriage was difficult for most, even those in happy marriages. Trying to balance competing workloads, online schooling, changes in income, job loss, and different risk tolerances based on constantly evolving information about Covid-19 and vaccines, was a testing period for us all. The challenges in navigating such issues are tenfold in unhappy marriages. Additionally, there were further complicating factors such as access to courts being significantly reduced, and the inability to meet with clients, who are often vulnerable, in person.
At Lenkinski Carr & Richard LLP, we pivoted quickly and adapted to the volatility caused by the pandemic to meet the needs of our clients. First, we were able to provide effective legal advice remotely and operate effectively in a virtual courtroom as we were already operating a paperless office. Second, we had systems in place that enabled us to collaborate remotely, which allowed us to offer our clients the full team’s expertise. Finally, whether meeting in person or virtually, our priority is ensuring that our clients feel heard, understood, and given practical and sound legal advice to empower them to make the best decisions for their future.
Herschel Fogelman
Herschel Fogelman, the founder and principal of Fogelman Law, is a highly respected family
law advocate, mediator, arbitrator, and educator. He is known for developing creative yet
practical solutions to family law problems. Having successfully mediated thousands of family
law cases, Herschel knows how to foster an environment where resolution is possible.
What types of matters does Fogelman Law handle?
Fogelman Law is a boutique firm that practices family law. They are known for their strategic yet practical, result-oriented approach tailored to fit each client’s preferences. The lawyers at Fogelman Law handle all manners of family legal disputes and assist clients with the negotiation and drafting of marriage or cohabitation agreements. Fogelman Law’s emphasis is on complex financial disputes within a family law context such as income determination, valuation, tax and cross border issues.
In addition to assisting clients in resolving their individual family law disputes, either through negotiation or litigation, Herschel Fogelman, the principal of Fogelman Law has a robust mediation/arbitration practice. Herschel mediates family law and other disputes between parties and is one of the most experienced mediators in Ontario. Herschel is also a highly sought after arbitrator and he is often called upon to conduct hearings on family law and other matters.
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