Best Family Lawyers and Divorce Lawyers in Vancouver Recommended by a Family Lawyer

Psst, other websites recommending the best family lawyers in Vancouver are written by people who are not lawyers. They haven’t dealt with family lawyers like I have and are probably getting paid to recommend law firms and lawyers.  Read this post because I am a family lawyer recommending other family lawyers and I don’t get paid to do so. 

I will be referring some of the Best Family Lawyers in Vancouver and British Columbia based on my personal experience with them. This is not to say that they are the ultimate best Vancouver family lawyers and my opinion is 100% accurate. You should always do your own research and verification before hiring a Vancouver family lawyer. I will be recommending some of the Best Family Lawyers in Vancouver here based on my own subjective opinion but will more importantly give you some pointers on how to choose the right family lawyer. No, I’m not worried about competition, I embrace it and my clients think I’m fabulous . I’m just here to share the love.

To learn about the types of family lawyers to avoid, click here. 

Anyways, getting to the important stuff…

Best Family Lawyer in Vancouver for Litigation and High-Conflict Cases

• Not saying we are the best (we can’t by Law Society Rules) but Leena Yousefi  has been voted as the #1 the top family lawyer in BC, has won a bunch of awards, and will bend over backwards to fully protect her clients. She also won over 90% of our cases in 2014 to 2016*, 100% in 2017*, and her firm was chosen as the Top Family Law Firm in Vancouver by the Top Choice Awards. If you don’t believe or like us, which is totally cool, here is a list of other great family lawyers in no specific order:

•  Shelagh Kinney: No matter how acrimonious your case may be, Shelagh will find a way to settle it. Impeccable work and extreme attention to detail are one of several good qualities Shelagh has as a lawyer. She is very good at negotiating settlements and takes extreme care of her cases. She is logical, dispassionate and to the point which helps with settling cases. She has over 25 years of experience in family law. She is very respectful and professional. Contact her by clicking here. I think her hourly rate is $400 to $450 per hour but tell her I referred you and you may be able to negotiate a lower rate. Any money spent on Shelagh is money well spent because she will save you a lot of money at the end. So don’t let the rate scare you. She will make sure the investment is well worth it.

•  Shawna Specht: If you think your case is going to court, consider Shawna: Incredibly smart lawyer who is also ambitious and aggressive when she needs to be. She clerked at the Supreme Court of BC and went on to win some famous cases in family law. She cares about her clients and is very sharp when it comes to court litigation. She has the ‘no BS’ personality which I enjoy and very helpful to her clients. Shawna’s hourly rate is $400 per hour.

•  Jennifer Lin: one of the hardest working and intelligent lawyers I know, she is also highly professional, dedicated and fascinated about family law. I worked with her before and I also went to law school with her, so I can attest to her talents. She is truly a breath of fresh air when you are going through dramatic family law times, and is extremely fair with her billings and dealings with all her clients. You can contact her by clicking here. She works out of downtown Vancouver, and her hourly rate is $300 per hour.

•  Georgialee Lang: She is a senior lawyer but way younger and finer looking than younger family lawyers. She is also one of the most successful family lawyers in BC and currently only takes on Appeal cases (and settlements, arbitration, etc). If you want a well-respected Appeals lawyer, look no further… oh did I mention she has won multiple prestigious awards both in the legal community and outside and is my personal role model? Contact her by clicking here. I am not sure about her hourly rate.

•  Ari Wormeli: Ari is the person I go to for every problem or issue I have in family law. Ari is 1000 times more intelligent than any other lawyer I know. He is an academic library onto itself. Do not expect him to get passionate or emotional – he only knows how to connect with the judge and give arguments that no one can take any issues with. Truly the best family lawyer I have ever come across, Ari is a diamond in the dust. You need to take your time to get to know Ari, but once you do, you will be glad you ever came across such an intelligent, soft, beautiful soul who knows how to help every one around him. I am forever indebted to Ari for his incredible mind and compassionate soul. You can contact Ari by clicking here. 

Best Family Lawyer in Vancouver for Family Law Settlements

• Morag McLoad: a well respected and old school family law lawyer, who these days is better known as a family law mediator than anything else. She is smart, knowledgeable and pleasant to deal with. It was a pleasure settling my case having her as my mediator. You can contact her by clicking here. I think her hourly rate is from $350 to $400 per hour.

• Georgialee Lang: She is a mediator, arbitrator and a host of other awesome things in the family law community. She is entertaining, intelligent and well-respected. If you are a high-networth client, she is the right lawyer for you as she is very knowledgeable about businesses, high incomes and assets.  Connect with her by clicking here. Not sure about her hourly rate.

• William Storey: leaves you wondering why he is a family lawyer after all? My first impression was that he was this kind, understanding free spirit who could connect with anyone and get you anything you wanted because how could you say no to him? He just oozes with kindness, respect and understanding. An incredible parenting coordinator, he has quieted down one of my most acrimonous family law clients. Nothing but love for this guy. And he is in Kitsilano which is awesome. Contact him by clicking here. His hourly rate is about $350 per hour.

• Shelagh Kinney: impeccable work and extreme attention to detail are one of several good qualities Shelagh has as a lawyer. She is very good at negotiating settlements and takes extreme care of her cases. She is logical, dispassionate and to the point which helps with settling cases. She has many years of experience as a family lawyer and is very respectful and professional. Contact her by clicking here. I think her hourly rate is $400 per hour.

How Do I Choose the Best Family Lawyer in Vancouver for Me?

Choose your battle:

Is your Family Law case acrimonious or do you want to find an amicable resolution?

This is the most important question to ask before hiring the best family lawyer in Vancouver. Because:

If your Case is Acrimonious: You need a passionate and energetic lawyer to fight for you. Note:

• Most senior family lawyers have fought too many battles to spend energy on high-conflict cases. In these situations, the best family lawyers are relatively young lawyers with at least 3-5 years of Court experience. So they have a very good understanding of the law and Court Rules (so they don’t spend too much time researching cases at your expense) and can also put up with long trials and litigious parties.

• These lawyers are hungry for success, passionate about their cases and willing to commit whatever amount of time needed to get you results. The law is the same and after practising it for a few years, you’ll probably know as much the next senior lawyer. Many people make the mistake of thinking more years of experience means more chances of success. This is not always true. Experience and learning family law only takes a few years, after that if you want a very senior lawyer, you are paying a much higher price for not much of a different outcome.

• So think carefully before you agree to pay $500 for a senior family lawyer who may not be able to act for you in the middle of your case because you ran out of money. You could pay less to a younger one who will work much harder for you and try to maximize your satisfaction, obtaining often the same result the next senior lawyer may get for you.

• To be fair though, one advantage of having a senior litigation lawyer is that judges often know them well and pay respect to them in Court. This may help you a little with your case, but ultimately it all depends on how your case is represented and whether the law and the judge, are on your side.

If Your Case is Amicable: 

• choose a lawyer, often a senior family lawyer, who specializes in collaborative law, mediation and other avenues of settling cases than in Court. These lawyers are laid back, have a cordial relationship with other family lawyers and are quiet well known and respected in the legal community. These lawyers are extremely knowledgeable in law and will try to calm you down more than agitating you.  You may think they are not aggressive enough or made you settle for less, which is unfortunate. But trust me when I say when they recommend a settlement, they are using their best judgement and although you’ll never know if you could get more at trial, you can trust that they made a calculated opinion and decision to help you minimize your risk and maximize your settlement.

• They can be expensive because of their seniority and you may not be able to reach a final settlement or resolution, but hey that risk will always be there regardless of what lawyer you will choose.

The biggest thing to remember though: please don’t do a Google search for ‘family lawyer Vancouver’ to find your lawyer because that search will only get you the one law firm that paid the most to their internet marketing company to make sure they show up on the first page of Google. This means you will pay for their advertising once you become a client and will not often have your expectations met because showing up on the first page of Google doesn’t mean they are the Best Family Lawyers in Vancouver. It just means they are good businessmen. And you need good lawyers. Good luck 🙂

In case you decide to contact our award-winning family lawyers, call us at 604-974-9529 or get in touch. 

The content of this page was updated in June, 2017 for more accuracy, freshness and comprehensiveness. 

This post is about the Best Family Lawyer in Vancouver. if you are looking for the Best Family Lawyers around BC, please click here.