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Login to watch this video if you have a subscription. Learn more about subscriptions.The Problem of Alienation
The scope of the problem of alienation is well known to family law lawyers. Research places the incidence at between 11 and 15 per cent of cases where refusal to visit occurs. Counsel is placed in the position of either defending the helpless exclusion of a parent who most often does not seem to deserve this fate or defending the preferred parent whose righteous stance on behalf of the children’s welfare often seems plausible according to the facts provided (Wallerstein & Kelly, 1980). Among high conflict cases involving disputed custody and intensive court involvement, the prevalence of child alienation can rise to 20 per cent although severe rejection occurs in less than half. Nonetheless, it is best to understand this phenomenon as a variant of high conflict divorce.
Parallel Parenting
Multi-Directional Order
Justice Deborah Chappel sits in the Superior Court’s family division in Hamilton. Justice Chappel received her BA from the University of Toronto in 1986. She received her LLB from Queen’s University in 1989 and her LLM from the University of Toronto in 1991. She was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1992. She was a member of the Bar of British Columbia from 1996 – 2000. She was a sole practitioner since 2006. She was in-house legal counsel for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, Office of the Children’s Lawyer from 2008 – 2009. Justice Chappel was also with the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto from 1997 – 2000; the Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia, Family Law Group, from 1996 – 1997; and for the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton-Wentworth from 1992 – 1996. Her main areas of practice were general matrimonial law, Child protection law, administration law, education law, major areas of tort law, Aboriginal law and law relating to institutional/government liability.
Still calling Ottawa “home”, Justice Parent relocated to the GTA in January 2013 after her appointment to the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, ON.
Gerald Yemensky was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1986. Since that time, he has maintained a private practice in Ottawa in conjunction with the law firm Campbell Clark Yemensky. Gerald focuses primarily on family law arbitration, mediation and collaborative family law. He is actively involved in the County of Carleton Law Association and the Family Bar Association. Gerald currently serves as a Director for Collaborative Practice Ottawa. He is also an active member of the Ottawa Association of Family Arbitrators. Gerald has acted as a mediator in family matters since 1992 and is an active member of the Ontario Association for Family Mediation. He has been a fully accredited Arbitrator since 2008, has acted as Collaborative Family Counsel since 2003, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Collaborative Practice Ottawa. He is past- president of the Children’s Bridge Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to assisting children abroad (www.cbfoundation.com). When the sun goes down, Gerald cranks up the Stratocaster as lead guitar for the Verdict, a band of mostly lawyers who perform regularly at charity and fundraising functions in the Ottawa region. The Verdict was honoured by the County of Carleton Law Association in 2006 with the Gordon F. Henderson award in recognition of exceptional contributions to the community for its ten year history of raising funds for worthy causes. This is Gerry’s first year on the conference planning committee.
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