Divorce is a unique life event. Everyone who experiences it has their own special situation. That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with divorce professionals who will put your individual needs ahead of their own. Anne Freed, a Toronto family lawyer and mediator, doesn’t just place a priority on her clients’ needs: she actually changed her career path to better serve them. Anne has 25 years of solid, exemplary legal experience and service and has practiced all aspects of Family Law, including custody and access, property, and support-related issues. A dedicated, passionate practitioner with a strong work ethic, she achieved outstanding results for her clients. Yet, she says, something was missing:  “Even when I won these victories for my clients in their seemingly impossible cases, they just weren’t happy with the results,” she recalls. 

Anne realized that, while she was personally challenged and energized by the courtroom experience, litigating matrimonial matters carried a very high cost for her clients, both financially and emotionally, and was particularly detrimental for children. “The litigation wars – and they are wars -- are like a horse race,” she explains. “Both sides constantly jockey for position, and there’s no way to predict the winner.” Clients believe that “justice will be done” if their case goes to court, but that is usually an erroneous assumption, she continues: “People are shocked when they have their ‘day in court.’ They think it’s going to be very black and white, but in fact, there’s very little predictability in family law; there is much discretion in our law and so much can depend on the courtroom and the judge. Litigation also escalates the conflict and leads to unhappy outcomes all around.”  

Anne knew there had to be a better way to help her clients divorce. Her determination to find it led her to graduate studies at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she earned a Master of Laws degree in Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) in 1999.   She also underwent extensive training in both Mediation as well as Collaborative Practice, gaining significant practical experience in both of these non-adversarial processes.  Anne now offers her clients a wide menu of services, including Negotiation, Mediation, and Collaborative Family Law. While she believes that litigation is necessary in some family law cases, she no longer offers it in her own practice. “I believe in communication, not litigation,” she says. “If a client is looking to resolve his or her case in court, I suggest that they see another lawyer.” Mediation and Collaborative Law are much more far-reaching than litigation, she adds. “They don’t just address the client’s rights. They also look at the interests of the parties.” Today, when clients first come into her office, she listens attentively as they tell their stories. “Then we begin the process by focussing on their objectives,” she explains. “I ask them, ‘What is it you want? What would you like to see at the end of the road?’” This approach yields remarkable results, she says. “Everything unfolds from that point. We are then able to discuss the  whole continuum of what I can offer to help them reach their objectives, whether that is Negotiation, Mediation, or Collaborative Law.” 

Being both a lawyer and a mediator sets Anne’s services apart. She brings her legal expertise to her Mediations, and her mediation skills and experience to her Collaborative cases. In her Mediation work, she acts as an objective third party, listening attentively ("active listening"), adjudicating the parties when necessary (arbitration),  and guiding and facilitating the process to completion.  While she recommends that those who pursue Mediation also each retain a separate lawyer, Anne’s extensive legal background serves as a great asset to her clients.  She knows the law – and the way lawyers think.  She also helps her clients with questions pertaining to general legal information and education. “It’s efficient because it shortens the time they need to spend with their lawyers and saves both parties money,” she explains.  

With Collaborative Family Law, the spouses each retain their own specially trained Collaborative lawyers. Together, the lawyers, clients, and other Collaboratively trained team members, such as therapists and financial experts, are committed to working together towards a mutually satisfying resolution. There’s an incentive for everyone concerned to keep this commitment: all the Collaborative professionals involved in the case must resign if matters appear to be heading towards court. With both Mediation and Collaborative Law, the parties are protected, and they “own” their outcome. These processes are also typically much less costly than litigation, adds Anne. It’s also much healthier for the children to know the parties are working together instead of waging war in the litigation process. “Using these processes offers positive, creative, and hopeful solutions,” she says. “And if you have children, they will provide you and your spouse with a positive model, so you can work together after the divorce in a spirit of cooperation.”

Anne’s career may have evolved dramatically over the past 25 years, but one thing has remained a constant: her dedication to her clients’ needs.   “I give my clients 150%,” she says. “I understand where they are coming from, and I truly go to bat for them.”  In letters of thanks, clients have praised Anne for her intuition, perspective, strong listening and communication skills, and honesty. “I put everything on the table,” she says, “the good, the bad and the ugly.” Today, Anne says she derives her greatest satisfaction not from winning a court battle with an adversary, but from helping people communicate with one another and solve their own problems.  “I believe in empowering my clients,” she concludes. “That’s always the best solution.  With Alternate Dispute Resolution processes like Mediation and Collaborative Law, you’re the boss. You are able to control your own destiny and create a divorce that will serve your needs now – and in the future.”

For more information or to book an appointment, please contact:

4th Floor, 390 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y2
Tel:  (416) 948-0444
Fax:  (416) 656-7266
Website: www.AnneFreed.com
E-mail : afreed@sympatico.ca

Anne Freed has written the following article:

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