About Donna Babbs, family law lawyer

My goal

As a family law lawyer, I strive to help people resolve legal issues and conflicts without going to court. The law imposes a duty on lawyers and their clients to try to resolve cases outside of court in appropriate cases. I promote collaborative negotiations over adversarial tactics. I work virtually.

What I do

There are four ways that I represent clients in family law cases:

• Consultation
• Lawyer-to-lawyer negotiations
• Collaborative law, also known as the collaborative process or collaborative practice
• Mediation. I provide legal advice to clients as they go through mediation. I do not act as the mediator.

Training

In addition to training in collaborative negotiations and conflict resolution, I completed the Dealing with Difficult Conversations course at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and an Advanced Alternative Dispute Resolution workshop through the Stitt Feld Handy Group in affiliation with the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor.

Volunteer work

My volunteer work includes contributing to the creation of Luke’s Place, volunteering for its Legal Advisory Group and Pro Bono Legal Clinics and currently, serving on its Board of Directors. I am a former Director of Collaborative Practice Durham Region, Kawartha Collaborative Practice, Durham Region Law Association and The Denise House.