Their newsletter Epstein & Madsen's This Week in Family Law is now available on FamilySource. Mr. Epstein has also assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief of the Reports of Family Law.
Following in the footsteps of Jay McLeod’s popular and pithy newsletter, the new authors will certainly make their own unique mark on the family law landscape in Canada.
Mr. Epstein is a recipient of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Law Society Medal and the Family Law Excellence Award from the family law section of the Ontario Bar Association. He is a distinguished family law counsel, lecturer, writer and active participant in numerous legal associations.
Ms. Madsen is a winner of several awards from Osgoode Hall Law School and a recipient of a Dean's Letter Recognizing Cumulative Academic Excellence. She is also a published author of several academic papers.
Philip Epstein summarized his vision for the newsletter as follows:
|
"We intend to concentrate on commenting on cases that we think have some significance and further develop family law in this country. We do not intend to comment on every decision. We will look at cases that we think are taking the law in the wrong direction and we will hand out kudos where they are warranted. We will try to produce some hints for loss prevention for lawyers where the case makes it clear as to how the lawyers might have avoided the problem that arose. We will comment on different approaches taken by different judges in similar facts. We cannot be as witty or as pithy as Jay McLeod. We can, however, try to deliver in a timely fashion brief notes of all the important family law cases as they come off the press. We hope that they will be of some considerable use to you and we welcome the readers' comments."
|
As Editor-in-Chief of the Family Law Reports, Mr. Epstein will be ably assisted by his law partners at Epstein Cole LLP: Aaron Franks, Melanie Kraft, Roslyn Tsao, and Ilana Zylberman. Annotations, from time to time, will be produced by the editorial group and other writers who are interested in writing about a particular case.
Back to FamilySource
Philip Epstein is a partner at Epstein Cole. He writes and lectures extensively on family law and solicitors' negligence topics and is active in many legal associations. He has worked on cases at all levels of court in Ontario, including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
In 1998, Philip received the Family Law Excellence Award from the family law section of the Ontario Bar Association. The following year, the Law Society of Upper Canada presented him with the Law Society Medal.
He currently lectures on children's law at the University of Toronto, and is a dispute resolution officer of the Superior Court of Ontario. Additionally, he has served as counsel for the Lawyers' Professional Indemnity Company for more than 25 years.
Philip is former chair of the family law section of the Ontario Bar Association, and the former head of the family law section of the LSUC's Bar Admission Course. For many years, he lectured in advanced family law at Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Toronto.
Philip was called to the Bar in 1970, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1981. He is a fellow of the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and served as a bencher with LSUC for close to 15 years.
Lene Madsen is an associate at Epstein Cole with a focus on family law.
Lene holds an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School, where she won several awards, including the Mabel Penery French Prize for Law, Gender and Equality, and the R.S.D. Tory Award for Research and Writing. She also received a Dean's Letter Recognizing Cumulative Academic Excellence. Prior to her legal education, Lene completed an Honours BA at McGill University and a Masters Degree at York University.
Lene was called to the Bar in 2003, after clerking at the Ontario Court of Appeal, where she was clerk to R. Roy McMurtry, the Chief Justice of Ontario.
Lene has published several academic papers, including an article on legal standards affecting families in the immigration system, and a piece on parental leave and child care in Canada.
A member of the Ontario Bar Association, Lene also sits on the Board of MATCH International Centre.
Aaron Franks is a partner at Epstein Cole with a focus on family law and the defence of solicitors' negligence claims. He also uses alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation and arbitration. He has worked on cases at all levels of court in Ontario, including the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Aaron has authored and co-authored several papers on family law topics. He is an instructor for the family law section of the Bar Admission Course, and speaks frequently on a variety of legal topics.
Aaron holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance from the University of British Columbia, as well as an MBA from York University. He is a member of the family law section of the Ontario Bar Association. Prior to joining Epstein Cole, Aaron practised commercial litigation with a large Bay Street firm.
Melanie Kraft is a partner at Epstein Cole with a focus on family law and solicitor's negligence matters. She is also regularly involved in the co-mediation of family law matters with Dr. Howard Irving.
Melanie has authored and co-authored numerous papers and reference materials on family law, including a chapter in the Family Law Reference Materials for the Bar Admission Course. Most recently she has been involved in designing and drafting the spousal support and custody and access sections of an electronic bench book for the National Judicial Institute.
In addition to her extensive writings, Melanie also speaks regularly to groups on various family law and mediation topics, teaches the Family Law Section at the Bar Admission Course, and is an instructor in the Family Law Mediation Certificate program at the University of Toronto. She recently prepared the program materials and lectured on settlement conferences in a family law context for the National Judicial Institute.
Melanie was called to the Bar in 1996, and has extensive training in comprehensive mediation. She is a member of both the family law section of the Ontario Bar Association and Family Mediation Canada (Ontario).
Roslyn Tsao is a partner at Epstein Cole with a focus on family litigation.
Prior to joining Epstein Cole, Roslyn practised in the areas of family and civil litigation, real estate and estates, tax and pensions, and criminal litigation.
Roslyn holds an LLB from the University of Toronto, and was called to the Bar in 1993. She is a member of the Association of Chinese Canadian Lawyers of Ontario and a trustee of the Education Foundation for the Federation of Chinese Canadian Professionals.
Ilana Zylberman is a partner at Epstein Cole with a focus on family law and civil litigation. She has worked on cases at all levels of court, including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Prior to joining Epstein Cole, Ilana practiced commercial litigation with Dennis O'Connor's practice group, now Associate Chief Justice of Ontario.
Ilana teaches the Family Law Bar Admission Course, and has co-authored a paper for judges on child support issues.
Ilana graduated from the University of Toronto Law School, where she was awarded both the prize in advanced family law and the prize in health law. Ilana is a member of the family law section of the Ontario Bar Association, as well as the Advocate's Society.
|