This year’s AFCC-O Chapter Social is from the comfort of your own home. On Thursday October 15, 2020 from 5 PM to 6:30 PM please join us to network, socialize and connect while we talk about and support one another on how people are grappling with family law in a COVID-19 world.  It is an opportunity for lawyers, judges, mental health professionals, mediators from all over our province to meet and discuss the impact of COVID-19.

We will be offering three breakout room options for people to discuss challenges and strategies and information on practicing family law in a pandemic, facilitated by leaders in the field. We hope you can join us for some socializing and discussion virtual style: BYOB this year, of course! So grab a snack, a drink, and come meet some colleagues and friends.

Agenda

Group Networking Activity

Self-Directed Visits to Breakout Rooms

1. Impact on Court Proceedings: facilitated by Justice Phil Clay, Justice Andrea Himel, and Archana Medhekar

2. Impact on Arbitration/Mediation Processes: facilitated by Aaron Franks, Jennifer Suzor, and Christine Kim

3. Impact on Therapeutic and Assessment Activities: facilitated by Dr. Kim Harris, Andrea Barclay and Andrea Jones.

Participants can remain in the same breakout room for the duration of the evening, or move to another room(s) to join a different conversation. Upon registration, attendees will be asked to indicate the room in which they wish to BEGIN the evening. 

Canadian jurisprudence over the last 30 years contains a wealth of information with respect to the use of psychological testing in family law cases. On the surface, the personality characteristics and psychological functioning of parents may appear as insignificant factors in how parenting cases should be decided. However, when psychological testing is utilized as part of a comprehensive assessment, it can demonstrate that the personality characteristics and psychological functioning of an individual can have significant, if not profound implications in relation to their ability to parent and meet the needs of their children.

When used correctly, psychological testing can form an integral component of a parenting assessment. However, when accepted principles and methodologies are overlooked or ignored, the consequences can be quite unfortunate.

The objective of this presentation is to describe the most commonly used psychological tests, summarize the type of information the tests provide, review the methodology of how the test results form part of the evidence, and elaborate on how judges incorporate the psychological test results as part of their decision-making process.

Additionally, the presentation will provide the attendees a set of guidelines useful for family law lawyers, mediators, judges and mental health professionals when psychological tests are used in a parenting capacity report or assessment. These guidelines incorporate the methodology and application of psychological testing as they relate to issues of evidence in family law.

Presenters:

David Frenkel is a senior lawyer at the Halpern Law Group.  He practices exclusively in the area of family law with a keen interest in psychology topics intersecting the law.  Although technically a litigator, David looks for creative ways to settle family law disputes in an amicable and holistic manner.  His legal writings and opinions can be found on his personal website,www.frenkelfamilylaw.com.

Dr. Irwin Butkowsky’s current practice specializes in the area of marital separation, divorce and family breakdown.  In this regard, he provides marital and separation counselling, individual counselling and psychotherapy for adolescents and adults, play therapy for children, family mediation focused on the development of appropriate parenting arrangements in the post-separation period, comprehensive custody and access assessments and parenting coordination. .  Dr. Butkowsky has had extensive involvement in the assessment and mediation of custody and access disputes since 1981.  To date, Dr. Butkowsky has conducted in excess of 650 custody and access assessments and more than 250 mediations.  He has been in full-time private practice since September of 1986.

Moderator:

Dr. Shely Polak 

October 16, 2020
Keynote Speaker: El Jones

8:30-9:00     AFCC-O Annual General Meeting

9:00-9:15      Introductory Remarks & Announcement of Dena Moyal Award

9:15-10:45     Keynote Speaker: Professor El Jones

El will review the tenets of intersectionality theory, exploring how an intersectional lens can deepen our understanding of social justice, access to justice, and pervasive issues within the family justice system.  Concepts of family and violence will be examined through this lens, highlighting the impacts of structural oppression and systemic inequalities on those served by the family justice, child welfare, and criminal justice systems.  In particular, the presentation will focus on how race, poverty, gender and domestic violence may overlap in ways that significantly disadvantage the men, women and children that come before our courts.  Finally, El will offer her insights about best practices for family justice professionals, and solutions for the future that will support transformative change.

10:45-11:00   Break

11:00-12:30   Panel: Tools for Addressing Internet Abuse in Parenting Cases

Justice Freya Kristjanson, Superior Court of Justice
Shawn Richard, Lenkinski, Carr & Richard, LLP
Seema Jain, Jain Family Law & Mediation
Linda Popielarczyk, MSW, RSW, Acc.FM

This multidisciplinary panel will review tools that may be available to address the increasing problem of parents using the internet to cyberbully their former spouses, including the new privacy tort of “publicly placing someone in a false light”, and effective resort to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.  Potential impacts of cyberbullying of children will also be reviewed, along with steps that can be taken to minimize these impacts, and assessment or therapeutic options that may be of assistance.  Finally, the panel will discuss the personal impacts on family justice professionals who are targeted by internet abusers, and steps that professionals can take to protect themselves and their reputation.

12:30-1:15     Lunch Break

1:15-2:45      The Opioid Epidemic and Family Court

Dr. Stephanie Tabashnek, Psy.D., J.D.

Practitioners and courts across North America are confronting the challenge of how to manage the effects of opioid addiction on families. Drawing on the latest research, this presentation will provide lawyers, judges, mediators, and mental health professionals with the information necessary to thoughtfully approach cases involving opioid-addiction dynamics. Topics covered include the impact of opioid misuse on parenting, the science of addiction, and best practices for family law professionals who are developing parenting plans or court orders in these cases.

2:45-3:00      Break

3:00-3:05     Tribute to Kathleen Chapman

3:05-4:30     Panel: Resist/Refuse Dynamics in Custody/Access Cases

Justice Phil Clay, Ontario Court of Justice
Justice Julie Audet, Superior Court of Justice
Patric Senson, Counsel, Office of the Children’s Lawyer
Dr. Shely Polak, PhD, MSW, RSW, Acc.FM
Heather Hansen, Martha McCarthy & Co

There has been a significant amount of literature released and webinars available on the resist/refusal dynamic in 2020. Our five person panel recognizes that registrants understand the issues so our approach will be practice focused. We will examine a factual scenario involving child resistance/refusal. Each panelist will examine the issues raised from the perspective of their role in family dispute resolution and provide practical advice for Ontario based judges, lawyers, and counsellors/therapists. The fact scenario will then be modified to raise new issues that may require different advice and different solutions. The scenarios will be available to registrants in advance of the program so that we can launch right into our discussion.

4:30-4:45      Closing Remarks

Note: Application to the Law Society of Ontario for professionalism and EDI credits is pending

Due to limitations imposed by COVID-19, this year’s event will be held virtually. As such,
registration fees have been decreased by 50% from last year’s prices.

2020 Fees

Gather on Zoom to discuss Southwest Region approaches to the “new normal”:

• Court: Thinking Outside the Courtroom “Box”
• Domestic Violence: Alarming Rise in Risk – Best Practices?
• Understanding Parenting in a COVID World
• Using Experts to Assist Families: What’s Available?

Speakers TBA and include:

Justice Gerri L. Wong
Dr. Dan Ashbourne
Dr. Kim Harris
Dr. Lynda Ashbourne
Facilitated by: Jennifer Suzor

No Fee. Please Donate to your local COVID relief efforts.

RSVP to jocelyn@familylawspecialist.ca