Elevate your expertise.
Join us to explore what it takes to stay effective, ethical, and impactful in a changing world.
Our Keynote Speaker
The Honourable Mary Lou Benotto
The Honourable Mary Lou Benotto was called to the bar in 1978 and is an arbitrator, mediator and retired judge with decades of legal experience. Her distinguished judicial career spans 28 years, including serving as Senior Justice of the Ontario Family Court, where her work earned her the Canadian Bar Association Prize for Excellence in Family Law. Elevated to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 2013, she presided over complex and notable trials until 2024. A McGill graduate and Harvard-trained mediator, Mary Lou is a past president of the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto and a leading author of foundational texts on family law and numerous articles and publications.
The Agenda
8:00 – 8:30
Registration, Networking & Exhibitors
8:30 – 9:00
FDRIO Annual General Meeting
Join FDRIO Members for our 2026 Annual General Meeting
9:00 – 9:20
Opening & Welcoming
Welcome from 2026 Conference Chair & FDRIO Vice-Chair, Elizabeth Hyde
Welcome & Land Acknowledgement from the Chairman of the Aga Khan National Conciliation and Arbitration Board for Canada, Mr. Al-Nawaz Nanji
9:20 – 9:45
Our Next Chapter: Introducing the FDRIO Strategic Plan
Presented by FDRIO Board Chair, Nick Esterbauer
9:45 – 10:00
2026 FDRIO Award of Excellence Presentation
Presented by FDRIO Vice-Chair, Cheryl Goldhart
10:00 – 10:30
Keynote Speaker | Honourable May Lou Benotto | The Evolution of Family Dispute Resolution
The Honourable May Lou Benotto was called to the bar in 1978 and is an arbitrator, mediator and retired judge with decades of legal experience. Her distinguished judicial career spans 28 years, including serving as Senior Justice of the Ontario Family Court, where her work earned her the Canadian Bar Association Prize for Excellence in Family Law. Elevated to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 2013, she presided over complex and notable trials until 2024. A McGill graduate and Harvard-trained mediator, Mary Lou is a past president of the Medico-Legal Society of Toronto and a leading author of foundational texts on family law and numerous articles and publications.
10:30 – 10:45
Health, Networking & Exhibitor Break
10:45 – 12:00
Plenary | Around the Arb World in 80 Minutes + Panel Discussion moderated by Michael Kleinman
This panel discussion will bring together updates and challenges related to Ontario family law arbitration practice. We start with a focused analysis on case law developments since the Supreme Court of Canada’s groundbreaking decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, which placed intimate partner violence squarely within the family law framework. From there, we will turn to the family arbitrator’s evolving duty to screen for domestic violence and power imbalances drawing on the principles established in case law and the statutory screening obligations that govern family arbitrators and mediators. Finally, we will examine the unique challenges that arise when parenting coordinators exercise their binding decision-making authority, exploring how the arbitration framework applies within the highest conflict parenting disputes. Panelists will explore the interconnectedness of these topics, including how our knowledge of the indicators of coercive control, informs our screening process, and how to differentiate those arbitration cases that are likely to be safe and appropriate for families from those that are not. We hope this session equips you with the practical tools and legal knowledge to competently navigate these challenging areas of practice.
Brahm Siegel | An update on case law since Ahluwalia
Brahm Siegel is a senior partner at Nathens, Siegel, LLP, a family law and divorce boutique firm with offices in Toronto and Mississauga. Brahm received his Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from McGill University in 1990, his law degree from Queens University Faculty of Law in 1993, and was called to the bar in 1995.
Certified as a Specialist in Family Law by the Law Society since 2008, Brahm co-authored McLeod’s Ontario Family Law Rules Annotated for ten years and is the consulting editor of the Consolidated Ontario Family Law Statutes and Regulations, published by Thomson Carswell. He is the author of the chapters on divorce, procedure and alternative dispute resolution for the Law Society’s licensing Process and was a Dispute Resolution Officer in the Superior Court of Justice for five years.
Hilary Linton | Lefebvre and the Duty to Screen
Hilary Linton is a Toronto family lawyer, arbitrator, mediator and parenting coordinator. She founded Riverdale Mediation in 2001 after practising as a family lawyer and defamation litigator. She has arbitrated family cases since 2006. Hilary is a renowned designer of family mediation, parenting coordination, and arbitration courses, both across Canada and internationally.
Jessica Braude | Arbitration Challenges for Parenting Coordinators
Jessica is a founding partner at JJ Integrative Family Law LLP, an accredited Family Law Mediator, a Collaborative Family Law lawyer and Family Law Arbitrator. Jessica also acts as a Parenting Coordinator and assists families in implementing their parenting agreements and court orders.
Jessica has also acted at all levels of the Court in Ontario and was awarded the Heather McArthur Memorial Young Lawyers Award from the Ontario Bar Association. The award recognized her dedication to social justice and the development of the law in Ontario.
Jessica holds a BA from McGill University. She received her LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2012, and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2013.
Michael Kleinman | Panel Moderator
A McGill University alumnus with B.A. (Hons), B.C.L., and LL.B. degrees, Michael Kleinman was called to the Ontario Bar in 1994, is fluent in English and French, and has decades of family law expertise.
Michael has served as a Dispute Resolution Officer for the Ontario Superior Court of Justice from 2012-2023. A respected educator, he co-chairs the Law Society of Ontario’s Six-Minute Family Law Lawyer program and frequently presents at major CPD events. He is also a published author in mediation-arbitration agreements.
Today, his practice is largely restricted to family law mediation and arbitration. He remains an active member of the LSO, OBA, AFCC, ADRIO and FDRIO.
12:00 – 1:00
Lunch *optional tour of the Ismaili Centre
1:00 – 1:15
Our Family Wizard Presentation
Join OurFamilyWizard for a brief update on the latest platform enhancements, including
the new Parenting Schedule Builder for Professional Accounts. Learn how these new
tools can support mediators and other family dispute resolution professionals in helping
parents communicate more effectively, reduce conflict, and streamline co-parenting.
1:15 – 2:15
Plenary | Trauma and Stressor-Informed Processes in Mediation and Arbitration
Family mediation and arbitration often take place amid heightened stress, uncertainty, grief, conflict, fear, and mistrust. While trauma may be present for some participants, not every distressed or dysregulated person is traumatized, and trauma-informed practice should not depend on proving or assuming trauma.
This plenary reframes trauma- and stressor-informed processes as an approach to service delivery that is responsive to the human nervous system under pressure. The session will distinguish between stress responses, which may arise from conflict, litigation, parenting uncertainty, financial insecurity, or perceived threat, and trauma and attachment responses, which are more deeply connected to experiences that overwhelm a person’s capacity to cope, integrate, or feel safe.
Using the concept of the window of tolerance, the plenary will explore how mediators, arbitrators, and other family law professionals can design processes that help participants remain sufficiently regulated to understand information, communicate meaningfully, make decisions, and participate with dignity.
Rather than treating trauma-informed practice as a specialized response only for cases involving identified trauma, this session presents it as a universal, process-oriented framework. Attention will be given to pacing, predictability, voice, choice, emotional safety, co-regulating tactics, procedural fairness, and the risks of pushing participants outside their window of tolerance. The goal is not to avoid discomfort or difficult conversations, but to create conditions in which difficult conversations can occur without unnecessarily escalating stress, shame, fear, or disengagement.
Raheena Lalani Dahya
Raheena Lalani Dahya, is a family law and community mediator in Toronto, Canada; a
Professor of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) at Humber Polytechnic; and a faculty
member of family law mediation programs at various institutions in Canada. Her academic
focus is split into three streams: (1) the application of neuroscientific principles to the
practice mediation, including trauma-informed and attachment-informed mediation; (2)
culture and conflict in an algorithmic society; and (3) risk assessment and the mitigation of
violence in interpersonal conflict. Raheena’s work has been used in North America, the UK,
Europe, Africa, and Oceania.
Raheena is a lawyer in Ontario, and an unregistered Barrister in England and Wales. She is
accredited as a mediator by multiple institutions internationally. Currently, Raheena is serving
her first three-year term as a global mediation trainer for the Aga Khan International
Conciliation and Arbitration Board.
Raheena is a dedicated member of the mediation field, having spent years advancing the
industry, in part through her leadership roles. She served six terms as an Executive Board
Director of the Ontario Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Section; and four
terms as a Board Director for the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario, (which was
then) a family mediation accrediting body, where she founded the Family Violence Section
and served as the inaugural Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Raheena is committed to life-long learning and the rigorous pursuit of knowledge. At present,
she is studying in a part-time MSc in Applied Neuroscience programme at King’s College
London, as part of her ongoing research in ADR & neuroscience.
She is an avid yoga practitioner and a certified yoga teacher.
Dr. Michael Saini
Dr. Michael Saini is a Professor holding the Factor-Inwentash Chair in Law and Social Work at the University of Toronto, where he co-directs the Combined J.D./M.S.W. program and teaches family mediation. He presents internationally on mediation topics and has over 200 publications. In 2019, he received the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ (AFCC) Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award.
Dr. Saini is an AFCC Board Member, International Academy of Family Lawyers Associate Fellow, Family Mediation Canada Lifetime Member, Ontario Association of Family Mediation Associate Member, and Editorial Board Member of the Family Court Review and Journal of Divorce and Remarriage.
Learn more about Dr. Saini here
2:15 – 3:15
Valuing the Invisible: Coercive Control, Economic Harm, and the Law
Coercive control is increasingly recognized as a significant form of family violence with profound financial and legal consequences. It has now been recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada as a form of harm warranting damages pursuant to the tort of intimate partner violence. In this multidisciplinary session, a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV), and two lawyers who regularly work with survivors of gender-based violence, one from a civil standpoint dealing with all types of gender-based violence claims; and the other a family lawyer, specializing in supporting survivors of and a domestic violence, will examine the intersection of coercive control, economic harm, and family law, with particular focus on the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia. Attendees will gain practical insights into identifying the economic effects of coercive control, how it’s calculated, understanding emerging legal developments, and addressing these issues in litigation and dispute resolution contexts.
Erin Ellis
Erin received her Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University (2003) and her law degree from Queen’s University (2007). She was called to the Ontario Bar in 2008.
Erin has over a decade of experience and a proven track record of success advocating for survivors of both recent and historical sexual and physical abuse. She represents plaintiffs from across Canada, demanding acknowledgment and compensation for the harms perpetrated or facilitated by individuals and institutions, including abuse by teachers, coaches, relatives, foster parents, doctors, and clergy. Erin has a deep understanding of civil abuse litigation. Her extensive experience allows her to work effectively with her clients to determine the best approach for each individual case. Erin is passionate about representing survivors and uses compassion, dedication, and strong advocacy skills to assist her clients.
Samantha J. Eisen
Samantha is the principal lawyer and founder of a boutique family law firm, Samantha Eisen & Company where she practices exclusively family law with a focus on supporting survivors of gender-based violence, assault and abuse. Samantha has a background in psychology and an LLM in dispute resolution and uses a trauma-informed, collaborative approach to cases involving complex property issues, support and cases involving intimate partner violence.
A skilled negotiator and dynamic litigator, Samantha has successfully appeared at all levels of court in Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Samantha’s actively involved in research, with a particular interest in damages for intimate partner violence. Her recent paper on this subject and her research were published in Canadian Family Law Quarterly December 2024 Edition and referred to throughout the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Ahluwalia v. Ahluwalia, 2026 SCC 16. She actively volunteers with Luke’s Place and the PBSC, she is on the ILA Roster for survivors of sexual violence through the BSCC, she is an adjunct lecturer at UofT, and holds memberships in several prominent legal associations. She was named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2024–2026).
Matthew Krofchick
Matthew Krofchick, CPA, CMA, CBV, CMC, CFF, is a Valuations Manager at Krofchick Valuations in Toronto. Specializing in forensic accounting and matrimonial business valuations, he leads a team handling complex tracing analysis, income determination for support calculations, and pension valuations across diverse industries.
His extensive background allows him to expertly address financial issues in marital breakdowns, guiding legal professionals and spouses through the process. Matthew frequently lectures and has authored numerous articles on pension valuations, support determination, and business valuations in divorce contexts.
3:15 – 3:30
Health, Networking & Exhibitor Break
3:30 – 5:00
Does Bill C-223 Curtail the Alienation Toolkit and Harm Children?
The concept of parental alienation is widely accepted by Canadian courts based on the recognition that in some high conflict separations a parent will undermine a child’s relationship with the other parents conduct that is emotionally harmful to the child and may cause long term damage. Some feminist critics, however, claim that either parental alienation does not exist or that it cannot be reliably identified, and that the concept is used by abusive fathers to maintain contact with children who do not want to see them and refute claims of intimate partner violence. These critics are promoting Bill C-223 in Canada’s Parliament, which would prevent consideration of evidence that one parent is undermining the child’s relationship with the other parent and prevent orders for any form of “reunification therapy.” If enacted, this Bill would seriously harm children.
This panel will discuss the controversy over the concept of parental alienation, the use of reunification therapies and the debate over Bill C-223, including considering some issues raised by the Bill that do need to be addressed, such as judicial meetings with children in high conflict separations, albeit in a very different way than the present proposal.
Nicholas C. Bala
Nicholas (Nick) Bala, a Queen’s Law (1977) and Harvard (LL.M.) graduate, is an internationally recognized expert in Family, Children’s, and Contract Law. A Queen’s Faculty member since 1980, he has held multiple visiting professorships. His extensive, SSHRC-funded interdisciplinary research on youth and family justice is widely cited by global courts, including Canada’s Supreme Court. He has authored 26 books and 225+ articles, educated judges, and advised governments on major legal reforms. His elite honors include Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Lederman Distinguished Professor (2019), and the 2026 Mundell Medal.
Learn more about Nicholas here
Dr. Rachel Birnbaum
Rachel teaches in the area of children and families and on the intersection between law and social work. Rachel has over 25 years of clinical practice experience working with children and families of separation and/or divorce, specifically focused on high conflict families. She has presented and published both nationally and internationally on parenting assessments, child legal representation, children’s participation in family disputes, and access to justice issues. Her research is interdisciplinary and collaborative with colleagues in law, medicine, psychology and social work using various types of research methodologies in the social sciences.
Rachel has co-authored several books regarding separation and divorce and parenting plans. Rachel has received numerous awards, the most recent being the King Charles III Coronation Medal for Service and Research Excellence in 2025.
Gene C. Colman | Panel Moderator
Gene C. Colman, a 1979 call, played a key role in founding: Canadian Journal of Family Law, Canadian Equal Parenting Council, and Lawyers for Shared Parenting. He is a published legal author. Gene has seven children and numerous grandchildren.
Dr. Shely Polak
5:00 – 5:10
Thank You & Conference Closing
The Location | The Ismaili Centre Toronto
*Please note that Zoom access will be made available for those unable to attend in person
Thank you so much to all of our 2026 sponsors for making the FDRIO Annual Conference possible!
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Interested in becoming a sponsor for our 2025 Conference? Email info@fdrio.ca to find out more.
Thank you to FDRIO’s 2025 Conference & Sponsorship Committee Members
