Family & Divorce Lawyers

Strategic Counsel

Trained in Mediation, Parenting Coordination and Collaborative Law, Tracy is increasingly guiding her clients away from the Courtroom. She takes a collaborative approach to all matters unless and until this strategy becomes impossible. Whether in a formal Collaborative Divorce process or any other approach to family disputes, the better way is always one of the alternatives to litigation.

Even in litigation matters, Tracy is not a ‘hired gun’. She will make every effort to provide clients with the legal information, advice and guidance to come to reasonable positions centred on what really matters. Clients don’t want to set foot in a Courtroom unless they have a legally defensible position, which is objectively seen to be reasonable. With information and advice, Tracy strives to enable clients to make informed and reasonable decisions throughout the legal process.

Personalized Service

When retained Tracy she really gets to know a client’s personal circumstances in depth. She tailors legal strategy to every specific situation. She is honest and upfront about a client’s legal case. If she believes a client has unrealistic expectations, she will say so. As with most Family lawyers, Tracy has a lot on her plate on any given day, but she makes every effort to be as responsive as possible to every client.

Commitment to “Do No Harm”

In family disputes with children involved, Tracy believes that Family lawyers have an ethical obligation to “do no harm” to children, to the extent lawyers can impact on how the legal process affects children. Tracy is a Family lawyer who will advise against legal action that is unreasonable, vindictive, mean-spirited or losing sight of children’s best interests.

Representing Children

Tracy has always had a child-focused practice and she has considerable experience in working with high-conflict families. She loves working with children and has specific training in meeting with children affected by family breakdown and parenting disputes. She is also trained in how personality disorders, mental illness and addiction affect children in separating families. She is well-versed in the detrimental effects of parental alienation and the alienating behaviours of high-conflict parents.

Collaborative Divorce

Tracy is a registered Collaborative Divorce Lawyer.

Mediation

For those who may be considering mediation to resolve their divorce or family dispute, Tracy now offers mediation services, including Divorce Mediation packages.

Tenacious Litigator – when there is no other way

Tracy has demonstrated skills in litigation, both in the Courtroom and in preparing detailed and well-researched legal briefs for Court.

Since her Call to the Bar of Ontario and Alberta in 2010, Tracy has successfully appeared before the Alberta Court of Appeal, the Court of Queen’s Bench, and the Provincial Court of Alberta. Most Court decisions are not reported, but some of those that were reported include:

• 9-day Guideline income and retroactive child support trial (Hartley v Del Pero 2016 ABQB 1 and Hartley v Del Pero 2016 ABQB 14)
• 10-day parenting trial with issues of parental alienation and credibility (Cholowski v Onishenko, 2017 ABQB)
• Defence against the application to extend time to appeal a trial decision (Onishenko v Cholowski, 2017 ABCA 238)
• 5-day divorce trial with issues related to parenting, child support, spousal support and the division of matrimonial property (Nyberg v Nyberg, 2015 ABQB 768)
• Procedural fairness appeal related to the right to make submissions before a decision is given (Dewey v. Dawson-Moran, 2011 ABCA 45)

Education

B.A.Hons (1994) from the University of Toronto in International Development Studies and a Juris Doctor Law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School (2009)

While at Osgoode, Tracy was selected for competitive mooting teams every year and worked as a Division Leader and Caseworker in the Community & Legal Aid Services Program (CLASP) where she handled a full caseload of immigration, refugee and employment matters. As a 2nd year Law student Tracy conducted her first trial in a wrongful dismissal action, reported as Valdivia v. Long G. [2007] O.J. No. 5207.

Select Training

• 56th Annual Conference of the Association of Family & Conciliation Courts (AFCC): The Future of Family Justice – International Innovations
  • Toronto, May 29 – June 1, 2019
  • Parenting Coordination in a Global Context: Interventions, Legal Authority & Research (Debra Carter PhD et al)
  • Reforming Canada’s Parenting Laws: Innovation in Integrating Policy and Research (Nicholas Bala, Michael Saini PhD, et al)
  • Sociopaths: the Con Artists of Family Law (Bill Eddy)
  • The Crossroads of Collaborative Practice & Mediation: Competing or Converging Models
  • Anatomy of Child’s Views & Preferences
  • Arbitration in Family Matters: Private Ordering, Client Choice (Hon. Nancy Flatters, Larry Fong PhD)
  • What Best Interest Attorneys Need for Representing Children Under Age Five (Gina Santoro PhD et al)
  • What’s a GAL to DO? The Role of the Guardian Ad Litem with Unhealthy Child Alignment in the Family
• Making Mediation Safer: MASIC 4 Family Violence Screening (Profs. Amy Applegate and Amy Holtzworth-Munroe), CBA Law Series Webinar May 16, 2019
• 52nd Annual Refresher – Family Law, Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA), Lake Louise May 4-7, 2019
  • How to Practice Family Law and Not Go Crazy
  • Intersection of Family Law & Bankruptcy, Corporate Law, Immigration Law
  • Death & Divorce: What Happens when Estate Matters Intersect with Family Law Proceedings
  • Legislative Reform & Arbitration
  • Current Issues in Family Law
• Separation & Divorce Mediation, Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Alberta (ADRIA), Edmonton Oct. 11-16, 2018
• National Family Law Program, Federation of Law Societies , Vancouver July 8-12, 2018
  • Spousal Support Review & Variation Orders
  • Spousal Support – Advanced Topics
  • Updated Boston v. Boston (double-dipping)
  • Update on Family Trusts & Family Law
  • Tax & Family Law
  • Attribution of Pre-Tax Corporate Income when Determining Income for Child Support
  • Child Support & Shared Parenting
  • Relocation
  • Arbitration and Med-Arb Beyond the Basics
• Mediating Disputes, Harvard Negotiation Institute (Richard Mnookin, Gary Friedman, Dana Curtis), Cambridge MA June 11-15, 2018
• 55th Annual Conference of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC): Compassionate Family Court Systems: The Role of Trauma-Informed Jurisprudence, Washington DC June 6-9, 2018:
  • Mediation with Personality Disordered Clients (Bill Eddy)
  • AFCC Parenting Coordination Guidelines TaskForce: Paving the Way for the Future (Debra Carter PhD et al)
  • Interviewing Traumatized Children (Mindy Mitnick)
  • New Ways for Families: A Canadian Perspective for Trauma-Informed Practice (Bill Eddy et al)
  • Views of the Child Reports: A Valuable Addition to the Family Justice Toolbox (Rachel Birnbaum PhD, Nicholas Bala)
• People with Complicated Operating Systems & How to Communicate with Them (Megan Hunter), Alberta Family Mediation Society (AFMS), Calgary April 20, 2018
• AFCC Alberta Conference: Children who Resist Post-Separation Contact, Edmonton March 15-16, 2018:
  • Impact of Early Experiences on Brain Development, Learning & Health (Nicole Sherren PhD)
  • Children Who Resist Post-Separation Contact with a Parent (Barbara Jo Fidler PhD and Nicholas Bala)
  • Interviewing Children regarding High Stress Issues (John Pearce PhD and Terry Pezzot-Pearce PhD)
• Parenting Coordination: Work in the Trenches with High Conflict CoParents (Matthew Sullivan PhD), AFCC, Chicago, March 7-8, 2018
• Meeting with Children (Lorri Yasenik PhD and Jon Graham), Edmonton Jan 24-27, 2018
• Parenting Coordination: Essential Tools for Conflict Resolution (Debra Carter PhD), AFCC, Baltimore Dec.4-5, 2017
• Parenting Coordination and Mediation / Arbitration Process Design, AFCC Alberta, Calgary November 27, 2017
• Parent-Child Contact Problems II: More News You Can Use (Barbara Jo Fidler PhD), AFCC Webinar July 19, 2017
• AFCC Alberta Conference: The New Millenial Family: Navigating Best Practice in a Changing World, Calgary March 16-17, 2017:
  • Ethical Dilemmas Facing Lawyers & Mental Health Professionals in Work with High Conflict Parents
  • A Child Development Refresher: Implications for Parenting Planning for Young Children (Marsha Kline Pruett PhD)
  • Millennial Fathers and Co-Parenting (Dr. Kyle Pruett MD)
• National Family Law Program, Federation of Law Societies , St. John’s Nfld July 11-14, 2016
• Collaborative Family Law Training, Legal Education Society of Alberta (LESA), Edmonton 2015-2017
• Representation of Children in High Conflict Family Matters, Legal Aid Alberta, Edmonton Nov 14, 2014

Professional Memberships

• Law Society of Alberta
• Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Alberta – Family Law Section Executive and Women Lawyers’ Forum
• Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association (ACTLA)
• Association of Family & Conciliation Courts (AFCC) – Alberta Section Board Member
• Association of Collaborative Family Professionals (ACFP)
• Collaborative Divorce Alberta Association (CDAA)
• Alberta Family Mediation Society (AFMS)
• Legal Education and Action Fund for Women (LEAF)
• The Advocates Society

Languages

Spanish, Portuguese

tcb@brownlawgroup.ca