McDermott Family Law

About McDermott Family Law

McDermott Family Law is a family law firm based in Whitby, run by founder and managing lawyer Brendan McDermott. The firm focuses on divorce, separation, and common law matters, along with property division and equalization (including trust claims), spousal and child support, and parenting and decision making arrangements. It also prepares separation agreements, marriage contracts, and cohabitation agreements, handles motions to change existing court orders, and offers notary and document commissioning services and basic wills and power of attorney. The firm favours negotiated resolutions through mediation and arbitration over lengthy litigation where possible, and works with clients across Durham Region, including Oshawa, Pickering, and Newmarket, as well as Peterborough, Lindsay, and Cobourg.

Brendan McDermott worked in corporate sales and marketing before training as a lawyer, drawn to family law's direct impact on people's lives. Education included a B.A. in political science and English from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, a Juris Doctor from Bond University in Australia, and an international law exchange at the University of Oslo in Norway. McDermott was called to the Ontario Bar in 2016.