Sheila M. Holmes

Called to Ontario bar in 1989

Sheila Holmes holds a B.A. from York University and an LL.B. from the University of Toronto Law School, and was called to the Ontario bar in 1989. Sheila has practiced family law exclusively and is a Certified Specialist, Family Law. A respected family law practitioner, Sheila provides a broad range of family law services, including initial consultations and advice, negotiations, all levels of Court proceedings, including conferences, motions, trials and appeals, and mediation of disputes. Sheila was an instructor with the Bar Admissions Court (family law) for many years, an instructor with the Trial Advocacy Program at the University of Toronto Law School, and an instructor in Trial Advocacy for the Ontario College of Advocacy Training. She has chaired seminars, authored and presented papers on family law issues, and has been actively involved in family law reform. A former Director of the Advocates’ Society and former Chair of the Family Law Task Force, Sheila has been involved in government committees’ pensions submissions, Child Support Guidelines development, the Custody/Access Task Force and proposed amendments to the Family Law Act, and amendments to the Arbitrations Act. In 2009, Sheila was the Canadian member of the Family Law Delegation to South Africa (People to People International Ambassador Programs). Mediation is now a large part of Sheila’s family law practice, focusing in Toronto and eastern Ontario, including Oshawa, Port Hope, Cobourg, Belleville, and Kingston. Sheila is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Advocates’ Society, and the Canadian Bar Association. Sheila has lived in England and Africa, and now calls Toronto and eastern Ontario home. Sheila has three children, and her daughter practices law in Toronto.