NOTICE

During the period Ontario is under a province-wide directive to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19, our office will be open but staff will be working remotely. We are offering video and phone appointments and consultations. Please contact Fiona to book your consultation and contact Lisa if you are already a client and need to reschedule or change your appointment.

In addition to initial consultations we are also providing mediation services in some cases. Call or email us to find out if you qualify.

For those clients in litigation, please note that the Ontario courts are only open for urgent and emergency matters until further notice. Please contact your lawyer for more information.

About us

We are a boutique family law and estates firm located in the heart of Oakville. Our lawyers and staff have comprehensive experience in all family law, estate planning and estate administration matters.

In family law, we provide negotiation, mediation, collaborative family law and litigation for clients with various needs, from uncontested divorces to those involving high conflict, difficult parenting disputes and complex support and property matters.

Our estates team provides professional estate planning services, including wills, Powers of Attorney, insurance designations and trusts as well as administration of simple and complex estates.

Our Partners:

Marian Gage is a Certified Specialist in Family Law (LSUC), an Accredited Family Mediator and a trained Collaborative family lawyer. Susan Berry is a proficient litigator with a commendable record of success. Both are skilled negotiators with a strong legal understanding and a familiarity with the impact of the law on modern families. Their commitment to their clients and their practical approach to family law drew them together to form Berry Gage LLP.

Our Associates:

Suzanne Stolz is a Family Law Associate with broad experience in negotiation, mediation and litigation. She has begun to practice in Ontario after a successful career in New York.

Bethany Anderson is our Estate Lawyer, with years of experience working at large Bay Street firms and in her own practice here in Oakville.

Our goal is to empower our clients with the knowledge and confidence they need to move forward. We are committed to working with clients, lawyers and other professionals to find the best process and the best solution to meet our clients’ needs.

We take a humanistic approach to family and estate law. We do this work because of our commitment to make people’s lives better.

Our law clerks, Susan Dryden and Beverly Orr, our Business Manager, Fiona Bryan and our receptionist Lisa O’Hara provide exceptional support to every client. By working with our professional and compassionate staff, clients keep their costs down while benefitting from their decades of experience in family law.

Awards

BEST LAW FIRM 2018	BEST LAWYER - MARIAN GAGE	BEST LAWYER - SUSAN BERRY

Our Community

Berry Gage LLP is committed to supporting organizations that strengthen our community. To date, we have proudly provided our support and sponsorship to the following groups:

• Sponsor of 7th Trafalgar Scouts
  
• Supporter of Rotary “Wines and Lines” fundraiser for scholarships for youth
  
• United Way
  
• Oakville Community Foundation
  
• Women of Halton Action Movement – International Women’s Day Dinner
  
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• Oakville Soccer Club

Memberships

Susan and Marian are members of the following professional organizations:

• Canadian Bar Association
  
• Ontario Bar Association
  
• Law Society of Upper Canada
  
• Halton County Law Association
  
• Hamilton Law Association
  
• Peel Halton Collaborative
  
• Ontario Association of Family Mediation
  
• Family Mediation Canada
  
• International Association of Collaborative Practitioners
  
• Association of Family and Conciliatory Courts (AFCC)
  

Friends Family Policy

We love our friends and family and we are here to support them through the tough times in a way that only friends and family can do…but not as lawyers.

Our firm has a strict policy that we do not work on marriage contracts, cohabitation agreements, separations or divorces for the friends and family of any member of the firm. We have been working in family law for a very long time and we have learned some hard lessons over the years. This is one of them. We can be supportive friends and family, or we can be lawyers. We cannot be both.

What we can do:

• Refer you to another excellent lawyer who we feel will be a good fit for you and your family matter;
• Make you tea or coffee and listen to you;
• Take you for drinks;
• Assure you that it is going to be okay.