Join the FDRIA for their 2026 Conference, The Next Chapter. A focus on practical strategies and meaningful discussion – Two extended sessions. Four Atlantic provinces.
Lunch provided.
SESSION 1: PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
PRE-TRIAL STRATEGIES FOR EARLY FAMILY CASE RESOLUTIONS: Comparing Our Courts’ Efforts to Achieve Diversion from Trial in Family Law
We open the conference with a timely discussion featuring judges from across Atlantic Canada on how our courts are working to resolve family disputes earlier and keep families out of unnecessary litigation.
The panel will explore pre-trial processes, approaches to early resolution, and opportunities to divert cases from trial across the region. How are courts encouraging settlement? What strategies are proving effective? And what can we learn from the different approaches being taken across the four Atlantic provinces?
For lawyers and FDR professionals, understanding the court’s perspective is essential to identifying opportunities for earlier intervention, strengthening collaboration, and helping families find pathways to resolution that avoid the cost, delay and stress of a full trial wherever possible.
THE PANEL
The Honourable Carole A. Beaton, Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Justice Beaton was raised in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, and graduated from St. Francis Xavier University (B.A.) and the University of New Brunswick (LL.B.). Admitted to the bar in 1988, she practised as an associate at Creighton and Shatford in Amherst, Nova Scotia. In 1994, Justice Beaton was a founding partner of the Amherst firm Beaton Blaikie, where she practised primarily criminal and family law and represented several municipal institutions. She also sat as Taxing Master and a Regional Assessment Appeal Court adjudicator.
Justice Beaton served on various professional and community committees and boards. She also sat on Bar Council of the Nova Scotia Barristers Society and the executive of the Canadian Bar Association (NS Branch). In 2001, she was a recipient of the biannual Francis Fish Award honouring women lawyers who have achieved excellence in their profession and the community.
Justice Beaton was sworn in as a Provincial Court Judge in 2003. She heard primarily criminal matters and chaired the Court’s Education Committee. She sat on the Atlantic Education Committee and, in 2010, was named co-chair of the National Education Committee of the Canadian Association of Provincial Court Judges.
In 2011, Justice Beaton was appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, assigned to sit in the Family Division in Halifax. She has participated on various court committees and belonged to several professional organizations. She has been actively involved in the development of judicial education programs and in mentoring the Court’s newly appointed judges.
The Honourable Stephanie Hickman, Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, Family Division
Justice Stephanie Hickman was appointed to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, Family Division on October 10, 2023. Justice Hickman was born and raised in St. John’s. She received her B.A. from Memorial University and her LL.B from the University of New Brunswick in 1995. She was called to the bar of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1996.
Justice Hickman was chair of the Regional Board of Cox & Palmer and a partner in their St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador office. She spent her professional career at Cox & Palmer and had a thriving construction, commercial, and energy practice providing strategic and practical advice to her clients throughout the region. A Fellow of the Canadian College of Construction Lawyers, she was recognized by her peers and clients as a leader in her field. She has participated in multiple mediations, acted as counsel in the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry, and has appeared before all levels of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. She was appointed King’s Counsel in 2019.
Justice Hickman was a recipient of the Lexpert Zenith Award for mid-career excellence and has been active in many committees and organizations inside and outside the practice of law, including the Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador (Disciplinary Panel), the Newfoundland and Labrador Construction Association, NLOWE (Newfoundland and Labrador Organization for Women Entrepreneurs), St. John Ambulance, the Dr. Jack Hand Foundation, and was a past chair of the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador. She was also a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization.
Justice Hickman is married to David Fay and enjoys spending time in Ireland.
The Honourable Sophie MacDonald, Justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown
Justice Sophie MacDonald is fluent in French and English. She earned her Civil Law Degree at the Université de Montréal in 1998 and her Common Law Degree at the Université de Moncton in 1999. She was called to the Prince Edward Island bar in 2000 and to the Ontario bar in 2003. She was appointed King’s Counsel in 2020.
Justice MacDonald articled and practiced with the Charlottetown office of Cox Hanson O’Reilly Matheson (later Matheson & Murray and Key Murray Law). In 2016, she joined the law firm of Stewart Mckelvey and joined the partnership in 2020. She maintained a litigation practice, with her primary area being Family Law.
Throughout her career, Justice MacDonald was an active volunteer within her legal community. She served as President of the Prince Edward Island Branch Canadian Bar Association. She was Chair of one of the Law Society Discipline Committee and was a member of the Continuing Legal Education Committee. She was a member of the Prince Edward Island Access to Justice Committee, and she was the Law Society of Prince Edward Island representative at the National Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Law. Her volunteer interests also extended to the French community, having served on the Board of Directors of the Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité, Île-du-Prince-Édouard, and the Chambre de commerce acadienne et francophone de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard.
Justice MacDonald lives in Stratford with her husband and her three children.
MODERATOR
Judge (Retired) William English, Provincial Court of Newfoundland & Labrador
William (Bill) English is a retired provincial court judge who worked in Labrador and throughout the province for almost 20 years. He sees the great benefits of early and less expensive dispute resolution for families who have to deal with disputes among them. He admires those who do that work. He will encourage others to join the effort by promoting training in, and access to, family dispute resolution throughout this province. Bill worked as a lawyer with a broad range of practice before and after his work as a judge. His primary areas of interest, besides FDR, are indigenous, criminal and family law.
SESSION 2
The impacts of separation and conflict on children & how the preferences of a child can be heard.
Our second extended session will bring together the issues we originally planned to explore in two separate sessions on the impact of separation and conflict on the child, followed by options to hear the preferences of the child.
The result is a deeper and more comprehensive conversation about the child’s voice in family dispute resolution, from the impact of conflict on children and practical solutions about when, how and by whom their views and preferences should be gathered and brought into the process.
We’ll look at emerging research and practice, screening and preparation, the role of the FDR professional, and approaches being developed in different jurisdictions.
And, importantly, we’ll have the time to really dig into the difficult questions that arise in practice.
CONFERENCE PROGRAM
Lunch available at 11:45 AM
Welcome | 12:00 PM
SESSION 1 | 12:10 PM
THE SYSTEM
Pre-trial strategies for early family case resolutions: comparing our courts’ efforts to achieve diversion from trial in family law.
What can we learn from different provincial approaches to resolving family disputes earlier, reducing unnecessary litigation, and improving outcomes for families?
Break | 1:30 PM to 1:40 PM
SESSION 2 | 1:40 PM
THE CHILD’S VOICE
The impacts of separation and conflict on children & how the preferences of a child can be heard.
What do separation and conflict mean for children?
When and how should children have an opportunity to be heard?
Closing | 2:55 PM
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION & FEES
We’re excited to present the second annual conference of the Family Dispute Resolution Institute Atlantic (FDRIA) with a program designed to be accessible, practical and relevant to today’s family justice professionals.
Three engaging sessions, including sessions scheduled partly over the lunch hour to make it easier for busy professionals to attend.
CPD hours available – an excellent opportunity to meet professional development requirements while learning from leading experts.
An outstanding program featuring leading voices in family law and dispute resolution.
Attend your way – choose in-person or virtual participation. In-person seating is limited, so register early!
All sessions will be recorded and made available to registrants, so you can catch up on anything you miss or revisit sessions later.
Affordable registration, with a special membership + conference bundle.
Membership offers even more value, including free and reduced-price webinars and events, as well as affordable access to the annual conference.
We hope you’ll join us for this year’s conference — in person or online!