Darlene Madott practised for 35 years in Toronto, initially as a downtown civil and matrimonial litigator. She then transitioned her practice to collaborative law and mediation, and finally moved to Toronto′s west end as a collaborative practitioner and peacemaker. She retired from practice on August 1, 2020.

After her call to the Ontario Bar in 1985, Darlene Madott began her career as a litigator, and participated in precedent-setting cases, which included:

• A Trinidad husband obtains a stay of Ontario proceedings based on Trinidad being the more substantial jurisdiction (Nicholas);
• A woman obtains the right to sue grandparents for support, based on a contractual concept of the family (Cheng);
• An international child abduction case raises constitutional and conflict-of-laws issues where immigration legislation conflicts with the Children’s Law Reform Act and the return of abducted children to the home jurisdiction (Maharaj);
• A mobility case, where an access father successfully resists the move of his children with their mother to North Bay, (Tumino);
• In an Application for variation of child support and financial disclosure, where the parties had a separation agreement that provided for non-variable child support, special expenses, and waiver of future financial disclosure, the father was ordered to provide financial disclosure as mandated by the Child Support Guidelines and the information was ordered sealed for 12 months. (Quinn v. Keiper).

However, as Darlene Madott developed in the practice of family law, she became increasingly disenchanted with litigation as a way to resolve most matrimonial disputes, sensitized to the lasting impacts of the way people end their relationships:

A published writer, as well as a barrister, Madott’s clients received the benefit of her written advocacy. Returning to the root of the word “advocate,” Madott derived meaning and satisfaction in her work from the concept of "giving voice" to those who cannot tell their own stories. She brought a uniquely creative and caring approach to the practice of family law.

Bar Admission:

• Ontario Bar 1985

Education:

• Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.B (1983)
• University of Toronto, St. Michael's College, Gold medal, Hons. B.A. (1975)
• Collaborative Law Training (Level 2) Certificate (2006)
• Family Law Arbitration, Conrad Grebel University

Past Affiliations & Memberships:

• Ontario Bar 1985
• Law Society of Upper Canada
• Toronto Lawyers Association
• ADR Institute
• Ontario Association of Family Mediators
• Collaborative Practice Toronto
• Canadian Italian Advocates Organization (C.I.A.O.)
• Writer’s Union of Canada