Covid 19 continues to press everyone's patience. We eagerly anticipate reopenings and then we are slammed with rising case numbers, new variants and renewed restrictions. Would that those entrusted with governmental responsibility ensure that the entire population would become fully vaccinated sooner rather than later. Alas. Sigh. At the Gene C. Colman Family Law Centre what we can do is continue to prioritize the safety of our team and our clients. We have therefore continued to work remotely and similarly, to meet clients only remotely. Efficiency and service are crucial in today's online environment. Here is what we have been doing:

CLOUD: We have been continuing to find ways to increase efficiency and client service. To that end, we completed our transition to the "CLOUD". Every file is now 100% digital and safely stored in an all Canadian cloud.

ACCOUNTING: We transferred our time dockets and accounting records to an all Canadian company. Bye Bye "PCLaw" and hello "Soluno". Soluno is much easier to use and the tech support is nothing short of outstanding. Soluno enables us to service our clients much more efficiently.

SETTIFY INTAKE: OK. These guys are not "all Canadian" but at least they are part of the Commonwealth - they are an exciting Australian company now active in three provinces and the U.K. At the time of our previous newsletter (Nov. 2020), we were anticipating the introduction of our online intake platform, Settify. We did indeed move to implementation and it has further increased potential client convenience as well as our efficiency. We now have from the outset all the key technical information that we need. Settify has created an auto merge file that then populates our "Consultation Memorandum". We are hoping for further Settify integration with Divorcemate - the program that creates the court forms.

Jenny Kirshen is now fully qualified to assume Collaborative Law cases.

Tanya Campbell-Dailey - Join us in welcoming our latest eager addition - student, Tanya Campbell-Dailey.

I am thrilled to announce that the Canadian Centre for Men and Families has opened in Toronto the first ever temporary shelter for abused men and their children. The Centre has been full since it opened. This is a very important service and The Gene C. Colman Family Law Centre is proud to have played a modest role in the planning and execution of this groundbreaking service.

Gene C. Colman: GCC has attended at least 39 continuing legal education courses since our last newsletter. Here is just a sampling of the many courses that have covered a wide array of family law topics:

From April to July 2020, we presented a a series of six webinars for the public on bell weather topics. These webinars were very well attended and received. You can watch them via our web site. Topics: Covid-19, Parental Alienation, Equal Shared Parenting, Fathers' Rights, Financial Disclosure, Grandparent Alienation.

Once again this year, we sponsored the Family Dispute Resolution of Ontario (FDRIO). Annual Conference. FDRIO is a multi disciplinary organization devoted to facilitating a more humane and practical approach to family dispute resolution.

We are pleased to announce that we were able to secure equal shared parenting for our client on an Interim Motion. The children's mother was attempting to gatekeep the three children's time and marginalize our client to an every-other weekend parent. Especially interesting was the Mother's insinuation that the eldest child, aged thirteen, should be treated differently than the younger two children, since the eldest child was not the biological son of our client. This, notwithstanding the fact that our client had been in the child's life since age four, and was the only father the child had ever known. The court heard the motion and awarded equal shared parenting time and costs to our client in the amount of $10,000. Jenny Kirshen was lead counsel in this case:

We quite recently successfully secured a victory for our client in an emergency motion to reverse a wrongful withholding of a child. The child had been residing with our client, the father, about 60% of the time. However, there was no court order or written agreement. When our client hired us, the child had been with her Mother for parenting time for four days, following which Mom had overheld the child for eight days. So we stepped in! We were able to complete the pleadings on an emergency basis, within days. The court accepted our reasons for urgency and set the matter for a hearing on day twenty-one of the child being overheld. The court heard the motion and ordered that the child be returned to the father at 5:00 p.m. that very day. Jenny Kirshen was lead counsel in this case.

Another good dad had to struggle for every single minute of parenting time. On top of that, mom and her parents were insisting on a private school well beyond the parents' budget. We were able to prevail on the school choice and secure for dad equal parenting time. The case settled soon after that motion. Rob McNeillie was lead counsel.

Another of Rob's clients was also struggling to maintain his parenting time. Mom moved to significantly restrict his time. The judge ruled "no". Parenting time maintained.

Securing the input of older kids especially is something that has vexed the courts for years. The Office of the Children's Lawyer turned down our request for a Voice of the Child report. Puzzling. So Rob McNeillie brought a motion to have the judge conduct a judicial interview. Motion granted. Interview conducted. Clarity obtained.

Another great dad of ours was fortunate to have earlier secured with our help an equal parenting regime. Mom was none too pleased; she brought another motion to cut down his time and role in decision making. We marshalled our precedent reported cases that say 'hang on there just a moment. Wait for the trial.' Motion dismissed. Kulbir Vaid was lead counsel.

We have been privileged to represent a fine member of the USA military whose kids were abducted to Toronto. Unfortunately, his previous lawyer appeared not to know how to handle the case. Well over a year had now passed with no contact. Finally, he has now had a number of lengthy periods with his kids that are taking place in the USA. The case has settled with dad's parenting time and role in decision making firmly established by court order. Kulbir Vaid was lead counsel.

We represent great moms too. Mom had always been the one to mainly care for the young child. While we are the first to advocate for ample (if not equal) time for dads, the dad in this case engaged in self-help and just would not return the child to mom, claiming she should have no parenting time at all. We got the court papers together post haste and ran into court (virtually of course) and secured the immediate return of the child to mom. Self help just does not pay! This is another of Kulbir Vaid's cases.

Covid-19 has generated a plethora of cases. We were privileged to have very early on during the pandemic to have been involved in a case that involved the best of intentions on the part of both our client (dad) and mom. Should the little girl attend in person classes or virtual classes? This case become one of the two leading reported cases on this issue. The decision was based on the principle that we all are obliged to follow government guidelines and those guidelines said it was safe to send your child to school. The result was not what our client wanted but as I said, it was great to have been involved in this very important case. Kulbir Vaid was lead counsel.

Legal Matters Canada is a reputable web site that highlights interviews on timely topics with Canadian lawyers. Check out the articles that feature the views of Gene C. Colman. Here is just a sample: