Submitted by Section Co-Chair, Nicola Allen
Summary of Meetings
Number of Meetings Held: 7
October 22, 2015
Guest Speaker: Julie Menten and Bob Finlay
Meeting Title/Topic: Managing Conflict and Setting Boundaries: Wellness for Family Lawyers
Synopsis: The speakers are both counselors who discussed the importance of and effective tools for setting boundaries in a Family Law Practice.
November 26, 2015
Guest Speaker: Scott Booth and Steven Kreiger
Meeting Title/Topic: Calculating Income and Using Divorcemate Effectively
Synopsis: The speakers discussed the factors to consider in calculating the incomes of family law litigants for the purposes of determining child and spousal support. They also discussed how to use the common support calculation tool, Divorcemate, most effectively for clients.
February 18, 2016
Guest Speaker: Paul Hundal and Jasmeet Wahid
Meeting Title/Topic: FMEP and MCFD: Beyond the Acronyms
Synopsis: The speakers discussed how to navigate the often difficult areas of Family Maintenance Enforcement Program and the Ministry of Children and Family Development and the kinds of Orders that are effective or enforceable in Family Law matters with respect to same.
March 9, 2016
Guest Speaker: The Honourable Mr. Justice Groves
The Honourable Mr. Justice Leask
Nikki Hair
Meeting Title/Topic: Views From the Bench and a Review of the Recent Law and Trends
Synopsis: This was a dinner meeting during which Ms. Hair summarized some of the recent developments in Family Law and her role with the Family Law Pilot Project at the Supreme Court. The Honourable Justices Groves and Leask then provided insightful views from the bench with respect to these recent trends and the Pilot Project.
April 21, 2016
Guest Speaker: Nelson Sacristan
Meeting Title/Topic: Drug Monitoring in Family Law Cases
Synopsis: Mr. Sacristan spoke about the available resources through Edgewood Health for addressing drug and alcohol abuse in Family Law matters.
May 12, 2016
Guest Speaker: Lisa J. Hamilton
Jeffrey A. Rose, Q.C.
Scott Booth- moderator
Meeting Title/Topic: A Discussion of the Recent Court of Appeal Decision in V.J.F. v. S.K.W. and the Impact on Property Division Under the FLA
Synopsis: We heard from counsel for both parties in the recent BCCA decision and their impressions as to the impacts this decision will have on the division of property between spouses pursuant to the Family Law Act.
June 30, 2016
Guest Speaker: No speakers
Meeting Title/Topic: Summer Social
Synopsis: This was the annual CBA Family Subsection (Vancouver) Social
Comments and Observations of the Chair
It was another wonderful year of interesting meetings and opportunities for members of the Family Law bar to interact with each other in a non-litigious setting. The executive this year was a group of highly motivated individuals who worked hard to ensure that our subsection was presented with a variety of meeting topics and important legislative and case-law developments throughout the year. It also became more clear over the past year, what a close knit and supportive group the members of the Family Law Bar are. This is something that I'm sure the Family Law Subsection will continue to encourage and foster in the years to come.