While family law lawyers need to be familiar with all relevant legislation, there are certain provisions that are “must-knows”. This presentation explores these provisions and provide insight into how to utilize legislative tools to advance family law matters. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program titled Family Law Essentials on May 22, 2026 running time is 1 hour.

This program is designed to ground you in the core principles of modern family practice while equipping you with practical tools you can apply immediately in your current matters. Whether you’re new to the field or looking to refresh and deepen your expertise, this program delivers a focused, accessible, and practice-ready overview of the issues that matter most. This on-demand program was originally presented as an in-person program titled Effective Chambers Advocacy 2026 on May 14, 2026. Running time for presentations ranges between 34 minutes and 1 hour.

Explore the ins and outs of the Family Property Act, including practical takeaways that will assist you in your role as legal support staff. Total running time is 2 hours, 28 minutes.

Legal support staff’s assistance in the preparation of Family Property Statements can be invaluable to a lawyer – if done properly. This on-demand program provides information on how to prepare Family Property Statementst to provide the information needed to settle the division of family property.

Prepared by leading family law practitioners, the Alberta Family Law Practice Manual guides you through a family law file from start to finish, whether the file proceeds through collaborative law, mediation, arbitration, or court. Highlights include comprehensive information on divorce, matrimonial property, child and spousal support, and trials.

Prepared by leading family law practitioners, the Alberta Family Law Practice Manual guides you through a family law file from start to finish, whether the file proceeds through collaborative law, mediation, arbitration, or court. Highlights include comprehensive information on divorce, matrimonial property, child and spousal support, and trials.

The Divorce Act and Family Law Act are the foundational legislation to address family law disputes in Alberta. They give priority emphasizing the best interests of the child(ren) of separated families and, to the extent possible, shielding children from conflict related to the issues arising from separation. This paper explores some key considerations from family law legislation and highlights a few key cases to use as a starting point when conducting research. These materials are part of a collection presented at LESA’s Family Law Essentials program in Edmonton on May 22, 2026.

There are four categories of informal logical fallacies, with each category containing a subgroup of logical fallacies that rely on a similar logical structure to convey unsound conclusions. These materials explore the fallacies of presumption, relevance, weak induction, and ambiguity. These materials are part of a collection presented at LESA’s Family Law Conference (Kananaskis) program in Kananaskis on October 24–25, 2025.

While many lawyers’ draft pleadings as a mere formality to commence an action, improperly drafted pleadings may cause confusion that may result in unnecessary litigation. This paper explores some foundational rules and the various types of pleadings that may be relevant to family law, as well as addressing some considerations when drafting pleadings in your family law practice. These materials are part of a collection presented at LESA’s Family Law Conference (Kananaskis) program in Kananaskis on October 24–25, 2025.

These materials explore tactics and organization when presenting your case; preparing clients for direct and cross examination; direct examination; pace, tone and use of inflection; evidence; and the top 5 dos and don’ts for direct examination. This paper also references the materials used within the Intensive Advocacy course offered through LESA, and the required reading: Lee Stuesser, An Advocacy Primer, 4th ed (Toronto: Carswell, 2015). These materials are part of a collection presented at LESA’s Family Law Conference (Kananaskis) program in Kananaskis on October 24–25, 2025.

Legal support staff’s assistance in the preparation of Family Property Statements can be invaluable to a lawyer – if done properly. While the preparation of these statements may seem repetitive or mundane when you are being asked to complete one every property file, as you will learn within this paper, the FPS is extremely helpful because it provides a high-level overview of all the family property and is often used to settle the division of family property. This paper was presented at LESA’s Family Property Act for Legal Support Staff webinar on April 22, 2021.