Kanata Lawyer | Kanata Family Law, Child Support and Divorce

Our Team

Cecil J. Lyon
Lawyer/CFL Panellist/Mediator
cecil@lyonfamilylaw.ca

Cecil has been helping people resolve their disputes since he started practicing law in 1989. Cecil's practice focuses on Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Stepping outside the traditional adversarial box whenever possible, Cecil uses a problem solving approach rather than a problem-making approach. The key lies in identifying the legal issues and working with and for the client to select the most appropriate dispute resolution tool or tools based on their particular facts and legal issues. The goal is to help clients resolve their disputes as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Cecil's practice focuses on all types of family law disputes with particular emphasis on litigation prevention and Appropriate Dispute Resolution including mediation, Collaborative Family Law, arbitration, early neutral evaluation (ENE) and principled negotiations.

Cecil also has extensive experience doing both trial and appellate work. Cecil has appeared in the Superior Court of Justice, Ontario Court of Appeal, Federal Court of Canada, Immigration and Refugee Board, Ontario Labour Relations Tribunal and the Federal Court of Appeal.

Outside the office Cecil can be found on the ice coaching or playing hockey, the ski hill (but only in the winter), fly fishing (at any time of the year), golfing, SCUBA diving, Bungee jumping, zip-lining, curling or spending as much time as possible with his son who is the apple of his eye.

Cecil is an Honoured Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution.

Cecil was a long time columnist with the Lawyers Weekly and a member of the Collaborative Family Law Network where he is a panel lawyer. He is also a Rostered Mediator with the Ontario Mandatory Mediation Program at Ottawa.

Cecil is past President of the Dispute Resolution Centre for Ottawa-Carleton, a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, National Institute for Dispute Resolution (NIDR), Ontario Association of Family Mediation (OAFM), Family Mediation Canada (FMC), Society for Conflict Resolution (SCRO), Network: Interaction for Conflict Resolution and other dispute resolution organizations. He has extensive training in ADR beginning in 1986. He carries on an active mediation practice including commercial and family mediations. He is the past Chairperson of the Canadian Bar Association (Eastern) ADR Section and a past member of the Canadian Bar Association's National ADR Section.

Cecil has appeared on the CBC program "The Docket"and been a panellist on CBC radio. Cecil has been a participant in many Continuing Legal Education programs offered by the County of Carleton Law Association and the Law Society of Upper Canada as well as teaching Judges how to mediate. Cecil has also taught at the Bar Admission Course for the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Faculty of Common Law, University of Ottawa and Queen's University Faculty of Law.

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Raquel Beesley
raquel@lyonfamilylaw.ca

Raquel Beesley attended law school at the University of Windsor, where she graduated with her LL.B. in 1998. She was called to the Bar in 2000, and has been practicing family law since that time. Raquel joined our firm in 2006.

Raquel represents clients on a variety of family law matters including marriage contracts and cohabitation agreements, separation agreements, custody and access disputes, equalization of property, and spousal and child support. Raquel has a keen understanding of the stress and anxiety that results when parties separate. She works with her clients to find solutions that enable them and their families to make the transition into a new chapter without unnecessary emotional and financial expense.

Raquel takes a results-oriented approach to her practice and uses a variety of methods of dispute resolution to achieve the objectives of her clients. Raquel strives for client satisfaction and prides herself on her ability to clarify the complex legal system for clients. Her determination, creativity and strong interpersonal skills make her an effective advocate.

Raquel is a certified member of the Collaborative Law Network of Ottawa.

Raquel appeared as a guest lecturer at the 2004 Annual Family Law Institute of the Carleton County Law Association, is a Chairperson of the Ontario Collaborative Law Federation's 2008 Conference Committee, and provides information seminars on a variety of family law topics.

Memberships:

The Law Society of Upper Canada
Canadian Bar Association
Ontario Bar Association
County of Carleton Law Association
Collaborative Law Network of Ottawa

Tamara Scarowsky
tamara@lyonfamilylaw.ca

Tamara Scarowsky practices exclusively in the area of family law, providing cost-effective legal representation, with a focus on problem resolution and client satisfaction. When kids are involved, Tamara maintains a child-focused approach. As a child of divorce, herself, she has a deep insight into the complex dynamics of families in conflict.

Tamara has worked on a variety of family law files, including high-conflict custody disputes, child and spousal support variations, cohabitation agreements, mediated settlements and complex property divisions.

Tamara prefers resolving disputes through cooperative means whenever possible because she believes that less adversarial approaches yield better results in the family law context. However, when the traditional court process is necessary, Tamara is committed to working with the client to achieve the best possible outcome.

Tamara first began her relationship with our firm as a summer intern back in 2008, when she was still in law school. She also volunteered at the Family Law Information Centre ("FLIC") providing legal assistance to low income families. Through these experiences she discovered her passion for helping individuals resolve their family law issues. Tamara obtained her L.L.B. from the University of Ottawa in 2009. She then returned to our firm as an articling student. Tamara was called to the Ontario Bar in 2011. She is delighted to re-join the team as an associate.

Tamara is the proud mother of two little boys. She has lived in 3 different continents. She holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia. In her spare time Tamara likes to read Canadian fiction, de-clutter her house and dance along to toddler tunes for her kids' amusement.

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Our Legal Assistants

We are proud to have two highly competent, hardworking and efficient legal assistants as part of our team. Jaclyn and Tracy work tirelessly to keep our practices organized, ensure effective communication between lawyers and clients, prepare legal documents, gather and assemble financial and other disclosure, and schedule meetings and court appearances.

jaclyn@lyonfamilylaw.ca		tracy@lyonfamilylaw.ca
Jaclyn Jensen is a 1999 graduate of the Algonquin College Legal Assistant Program, and has been with our firm since May 2005. Jaclyn is indispensable in handling our firm's accounting, administrative and legal clerk duties.		Tracy Percy graduated from the Legal Assistant Program of Algonquin College in 2005 and became part of our team in January 2006. She is an invaluable resource, providing a myriad of legal clerk and administrative duties.

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© Copyright 2012 Lyon Family Law. All rights reserved. All information provided is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute a legal contract between Lyon Family Law and any person or entity unless otherwise specified. Information is subject to change without prior notice. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, Lyon Family Law makes no guarantees of any kind.