Today is the last day to register for the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario’s 10th Annual Conference: The FDR Toolbox!

This year our very own Nick Esterbauer is co-chairing the conference, and I am fortunate enough to be on the conference planning committee.

As you may be aware, Hull & Hull LLP is again a proud silver sponsor of the conference. We are excited to continue to support this annual conference as it always delivers valuable practice tools for all professionals in the field of family dispute resolution.  The firm’s relationship with FDRIO goes back ten years, with Ian M. Hull having been one of FDRIO’s Founders. Ian Hull and Nick Esterbauer continue to co-chair FDRIO’s Family Estates & Elder ADR section and, through FDRIO, promote the use of ADR to resolve family disputes surrounding death and incapacity, considering the role of estate litigators as FDR professionals.

We are looking forward to Ian’s practice-focused panel discussion on ‘Screening for Mental Capacity & Undue Influence,’ featuring medical expert Dr. Kenneth Shulman and experienced mediator and past FDRIO chair Julie Gill. This session is designed to provide attendees with multiple insightful perspectives, as well as practical tools that can be applied in our everyday work. Their session will cover:

1. An overview on mental incapacity & undue influence.
2. The duty of a practitioner regarding a person’s mental capacity.
3. Factors affecting susceptibility to undue influence.
4. Screening for diminished capacity & undue influence, including how to identify warning signs of diminished capacity and red flags of undue influence, as well as recommended practices when screening for potential incapacity & undue influence.
5. When to recommend an individual for a capacity assessment.
6. How to ascertain a client’s intentions and wishes if there is a lack of mental capacity.

We are also honored to be joined next week by Justice Lene Madsen, who was recently appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal, as our keynote speaker. Prior to her Honour’s appointment to the bench, she was the founder & principal of Bluewater Mediation, where she was a full-time mediator, arbitrator, and trainer in the alternative dispute resolution field. Justice Madsen’s keynote on the promise – and the limits – of empathy in family dispute resolution stands to a be a highlight of the day.

Finally, this year’s conference has been approved by the LSO for the following CPD content:

• 1 hour of Substantive Hours
• 3 hours & 45 mins of Professionalism Hours
• 1 hour & 15 mins of EDI Hours

For more information and to register, please visit: fdrio.ca/2024-annual-conference

We look forward to seeing you at the conference! Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions.

Have a great day!

Geoffrey Sculthorpe

You can follow the links below to read about highlights of previous FDRIO conferences and other programming:

• Attending a Virtual Conference: Insights from the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario Conference (2020)
• The 2022 FDRIO Annual Conference: Widening the Scope of FDR & Avoiding Liability
• Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario’s 2023 Annual Conference (Part 1) and (Part 2)
• Mental Health for Lawyers and Other FDR Professionals
• Family Business Valuation Considerations