News

Giffen LLP Partner Lorrie Stojni speaks with CTV’s Krista Simpson about why there is a jump in the number of divorce fillings each January. 

CTV News is Canada's most-watched news organization both locally and nationally, and has a network of national, international, and local news operations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rYtdoOBH1M

We are proud to announce that Tyler Nivins has become Giffen Lawyers newest Partner effective January 1, 2026! 

With extensive experience across multiple practice areas, Tyler enhances our capabilities and supports our continued commitment to excellence and growth in 2026 and beyond. Congratulations Tyler!

#teamgiffen

A meaningful conversation around separation and divorce with Giffen LLP Partner Lorrie Stojni hosted by Erin Kiers of 88.7 FM Mount Forest.  

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As lawyers, we are advocates, advisors, and sometimes, the bearer of uncomfortable news - especially when ethics come into question. One of the more challenging aspects of being an advocate is engaging in candid ethical discussions that can make or break a case and, sometimes, a career. Judges talk to each other about us: they talk about our skills as advocates and, more importantly, they talk about our trustworthiness. These conversations and our reputations are not things any of us should take lightly. We need not only to educate ourselves on the ethical issues we may face, but also on how to hold conversations with our clients about ethical issues.

Upon being called to the bar, we are mostly left to ourselves with respect to the identification and resolution of various ethical dilemmas that will arise in our daily professional lives. It can be difficult to flag a potential ethical issue, let alone to know what to do once it has been identified.

In this series, we will review various ethical issues faced by lawyers and the best ways to address those issues with clients with input from some of the best lawyers involved with The Advocates’ Society. Specifically, we will provide guidance on what to do if: (i) you’ve determined you do not have the requisite skill set necessary to continue with a file; (ii) you suspect your client may not have capacity to instruct counsel; (iii) there has been a breach of confidentiality (accidentally or otherwise); or (iv) you are proceeding against self-represented parties or lawyers who have been suspended. In this issue, we will address how to head off potential ethical quandaries in the gathering of evidence in family law cases.

First, we need to understand the source of our ethical responsibilities. When we were called to the bar we all swore an oath. We promised to conduct all cases faithfully and to the best of our abilities, to faithfully serve and diligently represent the best interests of our clients, to conduct ourselves honestly and with integrity and civility, to not pervert the law to favour or prejudice anyone, and last, but certainly not least, to strictly observe and uphold the ethical standards that govern our profession.

Here in Ontario, the Rules of Professional Conduct lay out the ethical standards relating to the practice of law. Rule 2.1-1 states that “a lawyer has a duty to carry on the practice of law and discharge all responsibilities to clients, tribunals, the public, and other members of the public honourably and with integrity.” Rule 3.1-2 additionally provides that “a lawyer shall perform any legal services undertaken on a client’s behalf to the standard of a competent lawyer.” The commentary on Rule 3.1-2 directs that competence is founded upon both ethical and legal principles.

One of the most difficult conversations we regularly face as family law lawyers is having discussions with clients about ethical evidentiary issues, including electronic privacy, especially in cases where the other party is self-represented and does not understand the various evidentiary rules. Courts have found that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding their personal electronic devices. In highly charged family law cases, counsel must advise their clients about what evidence is fair game and what’s off limits, in cases where a client has access to their partner’s device and knows or can guess the password. Attempting to put such evidence before the court because the client demands it runs the dual risk that not only will the evidence not be admitted but that you have seriously harmed your reputation with the court by complying with the client’s demands in the face of what you know should, and should not, be properly put before the court.

As trusted counsel, the onus is on us to educate and guide our clients through the evidence gathering steps, and to impress upon them the importance of the source of the evidence. When clients provide us with documents, it’s important to make diligent inquiries about how they came into possession of the documents, and segregate any records that may have been obtained improperly. When we approach ethical issues from a trusted advisor perspective, instead of merely a service perspective where the customer is king, the inherent tension lessens and allows us to deepen the client relationship.

 - Jennifer M. Bolduc

It was a chilly but beautiful day supporting St. Mary's Hospital Foundation's Hike for Heart 2024 at the Laurel Creek Conservation Area! Team Giffen was honoured to walk alongside those who have had treatment at the Cardiac Centre and those who work at St. Mary’s Hospital!!

Giffen LLP is pleased to announce that Richard Noll (and his esteemed clerk, Rachel Petts) have joined our firm!

While Richard has extensive knowledge and experience within all aspects of family law and related issues, he can also assist with real estate, mortgages, wills and powers of attorney, estate planning, administration and litigation. 

As a seasoned litigator having appeared before all levels of court in Ontario, Richard will assess all options available and work with his clients to best resolve any situation.

We welcome Richard and Rachel to team Giffen!

Please help us in welcoming Tory Auld as our newest associate. We are thrilled that he is joining Team Giffen!!

Tory attended law school at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the law in the United Kingdom and its influence on the Canadian legal system. Upon returning to Canada, Tory completed his Canadian accreditation and was called to the bar in the spring of 2021.

After being called to the bar, Tory started his own law firm where he practiced a combination of corporate, real estate, as well as wills and estates. He focused on establishing new businesses, contracts, and corporate restructurings.

Welcome to our team Tory!!!

Giffen Lawyers is pleased to announce the admission of Nolan Downer to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2023.

Nolan has distinguished himself through hard work and dedication to our firm’s values of exceptional client service and professionalism, and his admission as partner ensures a bright future for our firm and our clients.

Nolan’s practice will continue to focus primarily  on insurance law (property and bodily injury liability defence, policy coverage analysis, coverage applications), as well as Plaintiff personal injury and employment matters.

Giffen Lawyers is pleased to announce the admission of Jorden P. Gregory to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1st, 2023. Jorden has distinguished himself through hard work and dedication to our firm’s values of exceptional client service and professionalism, and his admission as partner ensures a bright future for our firm and our clients.

Jorden’s practice will continue to focus on corporate and commercial matters (including financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters), estate planning (including Wills, Powers of Attorney, and creation of trusts) and estate and trust administration matters, and residential and commercial real estate.

After 36 years with Giffen Lawyers, Phil is retiring and stepping down as Managing Partner and will be Counsel to the firm starting January 1, 2023.

Phil joined the firm as an associate in 1987 and became a partner in 1991.  He invested over 36 years into building his practice and contributing to the growth of the firm and the local community.  He spent considerable time over the years involved with numerous local arts and minor sports organizations and played a key role in the creation of RIM Park and the Grey Silo golf course in Waterloo.  In addition, he devoted many years to leading the firm’s administration.  He oversaw the construction and planning for the firm’s relocation to new offices in Waterloo, accomplishing a seamless move in November of 2020. 

If you consider your career as a novel, Phil is grateful to have had so many wonderful chapters. Phil has had the privilege of practicing in many areas of law – from extensive personal injury and complex insurance litigation to family, corporate, commercial and criminal law.  Phil is thankful to have had the opportunity to represent many wonderful clients and to work with other legal professionals whose guidance, collegiality and humour made practicing law a rich and rewarding career.  Finally, Phil is grateful to his partners and team, both past and present, for their support, kindness and counsel along the way.  

As many of you already know, Phil has been providing services as a mediator for over 15 years. In this next chapter, he looks forward to focusing his time to his growing mediation and arbitration practice through his company, Peaceworks ADR.  Your choices for mediator are many.  Phil hopes you consider him as one of your choices for your mediation needs going forward.