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How
I Treat My Clients
Service:
I provide a high level of personal service to my clients. When
I take your case you know that you are dealing one-on-one with a senior family law lawyer.
To maintain this high level of attention to my clients, I do not take the maximum
number of files that I can bring in.
Communication:
Communication between a lawyer and client is crucial. I
normally return phone calls and emails within 24 hours – usually much less. All
incoming and outgoing letters, e-mails, and documents are forwarded to the client without
delay.
Money:
I also like to save my clients money wherever possible. When
I have an articling student*,
he or she does the work on your file that is appropriate to his/her skill level (at a much
lower hourly rate than my own). The articling
student is always under my strict supervision.
The
Types of Cases I Take
Issues:
I practise exclusively family law, and will take cases dealing with any family law issue, such
as divorce, custody, access, support, property division, marriage contracts (“pre-nups”),
and child protection. I also am able to handle
contested estate matters given the similarity to family law dynamics and the legal overlap
with respect to many issues.
Complexity:
After more than 28 years as a family law lawyer, I find that I do best for clients who have
challenging situations of fact and/or law. I welcome complex cases, particularly meritorious
appeals on points of law.
Parental
Alienation: Clients who face
challenges with respect to seeing their kids (including ‘parental alienation’ situations)
have especially sought out my services over the years.
No
simple matters: I normally do not
undertake simple matters such as uncontested divorces. I am not able to accept Legal Aid
matters.
Venues:
I represent clients in all Ontario Courts, and have argued many cases at the Ontario
Court of Appeal. Most of my cases are in
Toronto,
Oshawa,
Whitby,
Newmarket,
Barrie,
Brampton,
Milton, and
Hamilton.
Arbitration/Mediation:
I also represent clients involved in arbitration or mediation.
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My Philosophy
As a father of
seven children, I realize how essential it is for children to have significant contact and
input from both parents. A divorce should not mean
that one parent becomes cut off from the children.
Unless the
children are in danger of harm, I will not represent any parent who advocates that the
children should not see the other parent. Any parent who wishes to use his/her kids as a
weapon to punish the other spouse would be well advised to avoid even inquiring about hiring
me.
Is
Gene C. Colman only a Dad’s Lawyer?
I believe that
men generally have been quite poorly treated by Canada’s family law justice system. The
“deadbeat dad” stereotype has unfortunately become mainstream and has made its way into
the very fabric of the legal system.
I have found
that in many cases for a father to maintain a meaningful relationship with his children
post-separation/divorce, he must bring forth much more and better quality evidence than would
a mother. Many of my clients are fathers who wish to maintain relationships with their
children.
Do I represent
women? Certainly. My clients quickly come to
realize that my chief concern is representing people whose rights and concerns are unfairly
threatened. Men certainly do not have a corner on
injustice.
My
approach to dispute resolution: I
will do my best to ultimately attain a fair resolution. The divorce case will end, but contact
over children’s issues will continue for many years.
Many people
have complained that lawyers just take your money and make the conflict worse. In my view, it
is the lawyer’s responsibility to keep the conflict as civil as possible. It is a matter of
good advocacy to act in a professional manner. The dispute resolution process should involve
the following:
· The lawyer and the client
gather the pertinent facts and documents.
· The lawyer suggests a realistic
range of possible outcomes based on the law and the facts of the case.
· Lawyer and client seek a
resolution that enables the two sides and their children to move forward with some degree of
comfort and dignity.
If a conciliatory
approach will ‘do the trick’, then negotiations are pursued.
If tough litigation is called for, then the court route (or private arbitration) is
vigorously pursued.
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