Category Archives: Screening for Power Imbalances and Family Violence

The following excerpt from “Safety Planning in Family Law Cases: An Emerging Duty of Care for Lawyers?” is part 1 of a 3 part series which offers some helpful suggestions for safety planning and screening in high-risk cases.   Take all clients through extensive screening interviews before choosing a dispute resolution process and a professional to provide that process. Ensure …
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  FDRIO’s recent Unconference on May 4th introduced legal professionals to the perspective of LGBTQ+ parents in family law. Guest speakers touched on struggles faced by LGBTQ+ families in family law, including; fertility and what that means for coordinating parent access, child custody and parent decision making. With transgender parents, one or both parents might not be biologically connected to the …
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On January 29, 2016, I went ‘live on-air’ on Voces Latinas, a Spanish radio talk show in Toronto to talk about Mediate393 and what it is like being a roster mediator. I began the show by providing information about Mediate393 and the services offered by our team of roster mediators. The mediators at Mediate393 are comprised of mental health professionals …
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NOTE: Sina Hariri, who is a current intern with Riverdale Mediation Ltd., recently wrote and contributed this article to the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) website. https://ow.ly/Wctho ______________ As Family Lawyers, we are one of the critical cogs in a complicated and turbulent machine known as separation or divorce. Our clients come to us for help in navigating these turbulent waters (if …
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Power imbalances are an important consideration during mediation, but they do not start when mediation begins. Rather power imbalances are pre-existing factors that are at work leading up to the process. In his paper Exploring the Concept of Power in Mediation: Mediators’ Sources of Power and Influence Tactics Shapira discusses coercive power, which is defined as “the ability to cause …
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The National Self Represented Litigants Project just published an “Open Letter to the Canadian Judiciary”. It is a thoughtful and important read. The self-representing writers plead for greater understanding of their plight, and for more tolerance, compassion and assistance. This letter serves as a reminder that there are some under-utilized services to help those who cannot afford lawyers. Anyone in …
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In yet another case, a spouse has been murdered in the context of separation. This time, it is the husband who is dead.

Although there are different options for screening, this case tells us why some may be better than others.