Kim Kieller decided to transition her practice from private client representation to acting solely as a mediator, arbitrator and consultant at Agree Mediation.Arbitration.Consulting as of January 1, 2024.
Kim undertook her first mediation training in 1995 and was awarded the designation AccFM in 2011 from the Ontario Association of Family Mediation (OAFM). She is also a qualified Parenting Coordinator. Kim has received training in Arbitration (ADR Institute) in both family and civil law and has maintained her standing as a Family Arbitrator in Ontario. She is a member of the Ontario Association of Family Mediators and the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario. Kim is a roster member at the Mediation Centre in Barrie and Ex Juris ADR
Centres.
Kim has also viewed the mediation process from an academic perspective and obtained her LL.M in Dispute Resolution from Osgoode Hall Law School. In 2017. The Masters program was the instigator to Kim’s plan to leave private practice. While being a well known and respected litigator for many years, Kim began to understand that the court system does not always allow a litigant to be fully heard. Therefore, although there may be a resolution the conflict can continue. The mediation process encourages the parties to consider their mutual interests and needs in light of the “black letter” law. In mediation, the Mediator can assist the parties to “hear” each other and together create solutions to conflict. From her years as a mediator, her academic background and her previous life as a high school teacher, Kim has developed a compassionate and innovative approach to mediation allowing her to guide the parties to resolution in a comprehensive, educated and compassionate manner.
Kim was nominated as a member of the Advocate’s Society in 1991 and has been an active member, having been invited to speak at the Society’s continuing legal education programs. She was also a well known speaker at OBA and other legal education events especially in areas of litigation practice, financial and valuation issues and constructive trust issues. Kim has on an annual basis been voted as “Best Lawyer” by her peers for over ten years and recipient of a “Lexpert” designation since its family law inception. Kim has also co-chaired the Family law Program at the OBA Annual Institute. Kim was nominated and accepted to the International Association of Family Lawyers and is currently the Canadian member of the IAFL Dispute Resolution Committee. She was invited to speak at the IAFL Asia-Pacific chapter meeting on mediation and culture in February 2024 in a panel discussion with counsel from Hong Kong, Singapore, England and Australia.
Kim’s private practice mostly focussed on complicated property, trust, corporate and income issues in family law. She has given many hours to mentoring lawyers in these areas of practice.
Kim has always made a point of giving back to her legal community. She was an agent for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer panel and has been appointed as a Dispute Resolution Office since 2010. She has participated in many committees working toward the improvement of
access to justice, having been a member of the OBA Family Law Executive for 9 years, founding the Simcoe County Family Law Lawyers Association and being on several Access to Justice committees ranging from the expansion of the “unified” Family Court to the Joint Committee on Court Reform. Giving back to her community is also important to Kim and she was a Board Member of the MacLaren Art Center for nine years as well as the president and vice president of the Board, a board member of the Women and Children’s Centre, Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka and Talk is Free Theatre as well as spending the last 5 years as of Governor of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.