Family Law
How to Find the Right Family Lawyer in the Greater Toronto Area
A practical guide to choosing a family lawyer in the GTA: what family lawyers do, how to verify licensing, the questions to ask at a consultation, and the fee questions that matter.
Reviewed by Sabeeya Akram, Managing Partner, Ayoun & Sabeeya LLP
Published August 4, 2020 · Updated August 31, 2026
What a family lawyer actually does for you
Family lawyers handle the legal side of life's hardest transitions: separation and divorce, decision-making responsibility and parenting time, child and spousal support, division of property, and domestic contracts such as marriage contracts and separation agreements.
The right lawyer does two jobs at once — protecting your legal position, and keeping the temperature low enough that you can co-parent and rebuild afterward.
Check licensing first
Every lawyer practising in Ontario must be licensed by the Law Society of Ontario. The Law Society's public directory lets you confirm any lawyer's status and history in seconds. It is the first filter — apply it before you read a single review.
What to evaluate at the consultation
- Practice focus — a lawyer who regularly handles family files knows the local court practice, the forms and the realistic timelines
- Communication — do they explain your options in plain language, in a language you are comfortable in?
- Strategy — do they present negotiation and mediation options, or only litigation?
- Fees — hourly rate, retainer expectations, and what happens when the retainer runs low
- Fit — you may share difficult personal details with this person for a year or more
How Ayoun Law approaches family matters
Our family practice is led by Sabeeya Akram, whose approach starts with genuinely understanding the family position you are in — she is a parent herself, and it shows in how files are run. Consultations are with the lawyer, not an intake service, in English, Urdu, Punjabi or Hindi.
We serve the whole GTA from our Mississauga office at 25 Watline Avenue, with Google Meet video consultations for anyone who cannot come to us. The first 15 minutes are free, then $199 per half-hour — confirmed with you before any billed time starts.
The content of this website is legal information about Ontario and Canadian law, not legal advice. Reading it, or contacting us through it, does not create a lawyer-client relationship — that begins only after we confirm in writing that the firm is acting for you.