Basic Family Mediation

Cheryl is certified as a Specialist in Family Law by the Law Society of Upper Canada and has practiced exclusively in the area of family law for more than 30 years. She specializes in negotiating complex agreements encompassing all areas of family law and litigates at all levels of courts in Ontario including the Court of Appeal. Recently, Cheryl and her team appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Cheryl is an accomplished OAFM accredited family mediator and a certified family law arbitrator by the ADR Institute of Ontario. She is also a fellow with the International Academy of Family Lawyers.

Cheryl is the Chair of the Dispute Resolution Officer Committee in Toronto and has worked as a Dispute Resolution Officer at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice since its inception more than 20 years ago. She is a member of the Bench and Bar Committee of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Toronto) and was a director of the Board of the Advocates’ Society. She has served as the Chair of the Ontario Bar Association, Family Law Executive, and a member of the Canadian Bar Association (Federal), Family Law Executive.

Cheryl is a past member of the Panel of the Children’s Lawyer of Ontario, representing children in custody, access and child protection cases. She was a family law instructor for the Bar Admission Course of the Law Society of Upper Canada and is a very frequent lecturer on various topics in family law. Over her years of practice, Cheryl has written numerous articles for the Bar Admission Course, professional journals, periodicals and magazines.

Cheryl is the only family lawyer in Ontario to be awarded the Lexpert Zenith Award. She was certified as a “Best Lawyer in Canada” for family law since 2008. In 2016, Cheryl was awarded the OBA Award for Excellence in Family Law.

Borzou is a family lawyer and Accredited Family Mediator with the Ontario Association of Family Mediation (OAFM) and the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO). His academic background includes a B.A. in Psychology from York University and a law degree from Osgoode Hall.

In his law practice, B. Tabrizi Law, Borzou specializes in the negotiation of all family law-related issues with a strong focus on out-of-court settlement. He was called to the Bar in 2015, and he has also practiced as an accredited family mediator since then.

Borzou also practices as a mediator with Toronto Family Mediation Services (mediate393 inc.) which includes work as an onsite mediator at the Toronto Ontario Courts of Justice and the Toronto Superior Court of Justice. He is a mediation coach for York University’s Certificate in Family Mediation program.

Avagene is a family law lawyer, certified family mediator and notary public. She has practised exclusively in family law since her 2005 call to the Bar.

Fluently bilingual, Avagene holds a Bachelor of Laws degree (Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in French (Honours) as well as a French Business Certificate issued by the Chambre of Commerce and Industry of Paris.

Avagene’s extensive mediation experience includes working as an on-site mediatior in Toronto’s family courts. She is also a trainer and coach in the Riverdale Mediation Family Mediation training program.

Avagene is the founder of Skervin Law, a family law firm in Mississauga, Ontario. She promotes the resolution of family law issues including decision-making responsibility, parenting time, support and property, through a variety of alternate dispute resolution processes. She is also a member of the Ontario Family Law Limited Scope Services Project and a Dispute Resolution Officer with the Superior Court of Justice, Kitchener.

Avagene’s volunteer work in the field of family dispute resolution includes serving on the Board of Directors for Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario (FDRIO), being co-Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for FDRIO and co-chairing FDRIO’s 2022 Conference, “Widening the Scope of FDR”.

Avagene has shared her expertise in family law by presenting on “The Intersection of the Pandemic and Family Law Cases, A Financial and Legal Review” at the Chartered Business Valuators Institute (CBV) in 2021 among other presentations.

Lindsay is an Accredited Family Mediator with degrees from the University of London, King’s College (LL.M), University of Leeds (LL.B) and University of Western Ontario (BA). She lived in Montreal, Vancouver, the UK, and Asia before making Toronto her home. Prior to her mediation career, Lindsay’s diverse professional background included the investment business, intellectual property law and the not-for-profit sector.

Lindsay has also undertaken many volunteer roles within her children’s schools and community associations. Together, this has culminated in a broad, open and unique perspective in her role as a mediator. She encourages self-determination, honours being heard, and facilitates participation and dialogue through non-judgment.

Raheena is a family law and community mediator in Toronto, Canada; a Professor of Alternative Dispute Resolution at Humber College; and a faculty member of family law mediation programs at various institutions in Canada. Her academic focus is split into three streams: (1) the application of interpersonal neurobiology principles to the practice mediation, including trauma-informed and attachment-informed mediation; (2) culture and conflict in an algorithmic society; and (3) risk assessment and the mitigation of violence in interpersonal conflict.

She is a lawyer in Ontario, and an unregistered Barrister in England and Wales. Raheena is accredited as a mediator by multiple institutions internationally. Currently, she is serving her fifth term as an Executive Board Director of the Ontario Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section; and her first term as a global mediation trainer for the Aga Khan International Conciliation and Arbitration Board.

Raheena served four terms as a Board Director for the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario, a family mediation accrediting body, where she founded the Family Violence Section and served as the inaugural Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Raheena is an avid yoga practitioner and a certified yoga teacher.

Hayley is an Accredited Family Mediator and holds a Ph.D. in Religion, Ethics, and Public Life from Northwestern University (Chicago). She mediates parenting and custody disputes with mediate393, both off- and on-site. She is the principal at Hayley Glaholt Mediation, and her private practice focuses on conflicts brought about by cultural or religious difference.

Hayley is a member of the Ontario Association of Family Mediation (OAFM) and the ADR Institute of Ontario (ADRIO) in good standing. Hayley is also the co-founder and Executive Director of Link Toronto, a non-profit dedicated to educating the public about the link between domestic violence, child abuse, animal abuse, and elder abuse.