Gary Joseph  |  Jan 2026

This article was originally published by Law360 (www.law360.ca), part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.

It has been a very busy fall and, perhaps like you, I have been hanging on for the Christmas break. For me, it is the best time of the year. In my experience, it is the only time when most if not all family law clients and their lawyers try to step back, take a breath and treat each other with the respect and courtesy that should be a year-round norm.

But all is not so well with me. As I reflect on another year of practice, I have noticed a disturbing trend. I feel that some in our family law circle have lost their way. They have forgotten that they are officers of the court and are expected to behave in a manner commensurate with that distinction.

As officers of the court, we have a duty to uphold the law with specific ethical obligations to the court and the rule of law beyond our client’s interests. This was at one time deemed a sacred duty carefully observed by most of the bar. Recently, I have come to question whether that remains so. Here are but a few of the examples I have observed in the last year:

1. Opposite counsel on a file apparently lied to the court to gain an adjournment for his/her client;

2. On a file heading for trial, a lawyer claimed that he/she did not do trials. The file was transferred to one who claimed to do trials, and their client immediately sought an adjournment of a pending trial as new counsel needed time to get up to speed. However, we later learned that indeed the first counsel did trials and was engaged on a trial when our office sought him/her out on another file. We were deceived;

3. On another file, opposite counsel relied upon an endorsement without advising the court that the  endorsement had been later amended to correct a serious error. Reliance on the early endorsement was to the benefit of the lawyer’s client.

Add to the ever-disturbing trend of lawyers in court showing little respect for the court and the orders made, and I am left to wonder where we are going with all this. Inadvertent errors or lack of knowledge I can tolerate and forgive, but lying to the court or opposite counsel or disrespecting the court and/or fellow counsel I cannot. I have long argued that the justice system to which we should proudly count ourselves part of is one of the pillars of our democracy. To permit or tolerate rot from within is inexcusable. Pay attention before it is too late.

You can read this article directly on Law360.

Gary S. Joseph is counsel to the firm of MacDonald & Partners LLP. A certified specialist in family law, he has been reported in over 350 family law decisions at all court levels in Ontario and Alberta. He has also appeared as counsel in the Supreme Court of Canada. He is a past family law instructor for the Law Society Bar Admission Course and the winner of the 2021 OBA Award for Excellence in Family Law.

The opinions expressed are those of the authors) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author's firm, its clients, LexisNexis Canada, Law360 Canada, or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.