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Law timeS • September 3, 2012 Criminal, family lawyers particularly susceptible NEWS Continued from page 1 yers, and some judges are particu- larly susceptible because they of- ten face repeated exposure to the traumatic experiences of clients, says Gold. "Criminal lawyers, family law- Criminal lawyers, family law- yers, and some judges tend to hear some pretty horrifi c things on a day-to-day basis," he says. "It scars their psyche as if they had expe- rienced the trauma themselves. Some handle it by using alcohol to tranquilize themselves." Th e result, Fenaughty adds, can " she says. dependency issues will frequently change law fi rms fi rst in the city where they're currently practising and ultimately may move else- where. Other high-functioning alcoholic lawyers who are sole practitioners carry on their life- style until they ultimately have a medical event like a stroke or their organs begin to fail. When that happens, Fenaughty Fenaughty notes lawyers with vary from lawyer to lawyer. "High- functioning lawyers may be skilled at managing and hiding their ex- cessive use of alcohol, family members usually wind down their practice. Other high- profi le lawyers prefer to leave town to protect their reputations, she adds. But the secrecy surrounding says, their Di Luca Copeland LLP alcohol dependency in the legal profession may be due in part to ADR upheld Continued from page 1 court with a view to enforcing its provisions under s. 35(1) of the Fam- ily Law Act. Th e director of the Family Responsibility Offi ce subsequently noti- fi ed Grosman that he must make support payments to it. On June 14, 2011, Grosman brought an application to the court to vary or terminate spousal support. On Sept. 6, 2011, the Family Responsibility Offi ce sent a notice to Grosman indicating support arrears totalled $61,212.39 and that the director would take steps to suspend his driver' bility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act for an order that the direc- tor refrain from suspending his licence. Th e court granted the motion and required Grosman to pay $1,400 per month in support pending a hearing of his application to vary support. Cookson subsequently brought a motion to dismiss Grosman' application to vary support. She argued the court lacked jurisdiction because the separation agreement required the parties to deal with the issue by way of arbitration. Th e motions judge stated that because Cookson sought the benefi t s of the enforcement provisions under the Family Law Act, she couldn't argue the court had no jurisdiction to vary spousal support. Th ere was also the fact that a condition of the order directing the Family Respon- sibility Offi ce to refrain from suspending Grosman' also seek to vary the support order. Th erefore, the motion judge con- cluded he had jurisdiction to hear the application to vary support and dismissed Cookson' s licence was that he parties to contract out of the court variation procedure under s. 37 but doesn't allow them to contract out of the ability to fi le a domestic con- tract and have it enforced by the court under s. 35(1) and (2)(a). Associate Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor, writing for the court, stated Th e appeal court disagreed, holding that the Family Law Act allows s motion for summary judgment. that an "agreement to pay a specifi c amount of spousal support is not self-executing. Th e parties require an enforcement mechanism to ensure that each is kept to the bargain. However, it remains open to the parties to contract for exclusive arbitration to vary the substantive terms. In such cases, the court may enforce the domestic contract as it fi nds it." Th e court noted that to hold that s. 35 of the Enforcement Act allows the court jurisdiction to vary would create perverse incentives. Specifi - cally, it would lead to scenarios where parties enter into a domestic con- tract that contains an exclusive arbitration clause, but if one of them wants to vary the terms without going to arbitration, that spouse has an incentive to default on the support obligations and hope the other party seeks enforcement under the Family Law Act. Th en, when the Family Responsibility Offi ce attempts to enforce the contract, the defaulting party can bring a motion to the court to vary the support obligation, thereby circumventing the arbitration agreement. Th e appeal court didn't agree with this interpretation of the Enforce- agreement would vitiate the requirement to arbitrate the matter. He be- lieves the appeal court analyzed the problem correctly. "Obviously, it' using mediation and arbitration. Grosman' important decision," but for diff erent reasons. He suggests the eff ect of the appeal court' from doing so. GET NAMES, MAILING ADDRESSES, EMAIL ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS FOR LAWYERS AND LAW OFFICES IN B.C., NUNAVUT, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES AND THE YUKON Published October of each year Spiralbound • L88804-588 Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. Grosman then brought a motion under s. 35 of the Family Responsi- s licence. Joseph Di Luca Peter Copeland Gavin Mackenzie Erin Dann William Trudell Professional Corporation William M. Trudell Graeme Hamilton Tanoje PryCe Murray Segal Ralph Steinberg Bob Richardson Russell Silverstein Ingrid Grant John Norris Brydie Bethell Indira Stewart Ryan Clements Gary Pattison Javed Frost Trehearne LLP Ferhan Javed Joshua Frost Jennifer Trehearne Kim Lederri You make us all proud, Billy! simcoechambers.com 100-116 Simcoe Street Toronto, ON M5H 4E2 William_LT_Sep3_12.indd 1 Simcoe chambers is a law chambers comprised of several independent fi rms and sole practitioners, all of whom have a focus on criminal law and related matters. 12-08-30 1:15 PM Simcoe Chambers would like to sincerely congratulate our esteemed colleague, Bill Trudell for being selected as one of Canada's Top 25 Most Infl uential Lawyers for 2012. The Canadian Lawyer Top 25 List "is about a level of respect, the ability to infl uence public opinion, and help shape the laws of this country; contribution to the strength and quality of legal services; and social and political infl uence and involvement". the way the profession views and interacts with itself, says Gold. " ten think they are the only one struggling with alcoholism. I think that may be because no one is really talking about it. So you end up with lawyers who A lot of the callers we get of- think they are failures compared to everyone else, which is just not true. Bar Association chief executive offi cer John Hoyles says the real question lies in how the profes- sion will break the stigma around In the meantime, Canadian " mental-health issues. "On the psychological side, it' an area where more work needs to be done, LT s early on is so important because it can happen where you leave it so long that a person ends up doing something drastic." " says Hoyles. "Support PAGE 5 In one handy volume you'll have a single means of access to every lawyer and law firm in B.C., Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon. PUBLISHED ANNUALLY, THE CURRENT EDITION INCLUDES: • B.C. Notaries • B.C. Land Surveyors • Canadian Association of Para-Legals ment Act, indicating that this "may lead to a chilling eff ect on spouses submitting their contracts for enforcement." Epstein says it didn't strike him that seeking to enforce a support law," says Niman, who notes parties in family law cases are increasingly s counsel, R. Steven Baldwin, thinks this is "a new and s decision is that if the Family Responsibility Of- s an important case to those of us who practise family fi ce seeks to suspend a driver's licence as a means of enforcement and there's a private arbitration agreement, the arbitrator can prevent it LT THIS DIRECTORY HAS: • Durable spiral-bound format • E-mail addresses (where available) • Federal court listings • Federal government departments MULTIPLE COPY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE: 1 - 9 copies: ……………$40.00* ea. 10 - 49 copies: …………$38.00* ea. 50 - 99 copies: …………$36.80* ea. 100 or more copies: ……$35.20* ea. (*Plus applicable taxes) ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.CARSWELL.COM CANADIAN LAW LIST www.lawtimesnews.com • Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon listings. • Up-to-date addresses, telephone numbers and fax numbers