Brown Family Law and Mediation
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.1 lawyer · Wellington County (Guelph)
One of 50 law firms listed in Guelph, and one of 21 handling Family Law.
Virtual appointments
Virtual appointmentsAbout Brown Family Law and Mediation
Brown Family Law and Mediation is a Guelph family law practice that works only on settling matters outside the courtroom, either through mediation or through negotiation between lawyers. Its everyday files are uncontested divorces, separation agreements, marriage contracts and cohabitation agreements. The aim in each one is to bring the temperature down and give both people room to reach a creative agreement that holds up over time.
Ian Brown has run the practice alone since 2007. Called to the bar in 2001, Ian Brown has handled family law and nothing else since 2004, after earning an honours B.A. in history (1993) and an LLB (1999) at Western. Two decades of court work came first; after 20 years of it, Ian Brown stopped litigating to give the settlement side of the practice full attention.
That settlement work rests on years of dispute resolution training. Training in collaborative family law began in 2003 and now includes Level II and interdisciplinary courses, and mediation training followed at Harvard Law School's Negotiation Institute in 2014. In 2015 Ian Brown was one of the founding members of the Speed River Collaborative practice group.
A first consultation runs 45 minutes to an hour and costs $400 plus HST. It can happen over Zoom, by phone or face to face, and it's arranged by emailing ian@brownfamilylaw.ca, since email is the preferred way to reach the office at 164 Norfolk Street in Guelph. (Fees as of October 2026.)
Practice areas
Negotiated separation agreements
Most files settle through negotiation between the two spouses' lawyers. Financial disclosure is swapped first, each side sets out its position in writing, and the bargaining that follows ends in a final deal written up as a separation agreement.
Our guide: How to Get a Divorce in Ontario
Evaluative mediation
As a mediator, Ian Brown acts as a neutral third party and centres the process on interest-based problem-solving. It's evaluative mediation, so the parties hear where the law stands on particular issues or how a judge might rule, and each person still needs a separate lawyer for independent legal advice before anything is signed.
Collaborative family law
In a collaborative file, each spouse has a lawyer with collaborative training, and every negotiation happens in settlement meetings with both parties and both lawyers in the room. Everyone signs a written promise to bargain in good faith, and some cases bring in a team that adds financial and family professionals with collaborative training.
Good to know
Accessible parking
LGBTQ+ friendly
Virtual appointments
By appointment
In-person servicesFees & payment
HourlyHow Brown Family Law and Mediation works
Brown Family Law keeps its client list limited so that each client who retains it is served better, and it commits to regular, direct contact from the first meeting until the matter wraps up. As a sole practitioner, Ian Brown has no minimum billing targets and answers to no one but the client for the time a file takes. Without several days a week spent at the courthouse, Ian Brown is available to clients in a way that wasn't possible during the litigation years, with more control over the practice and a more open, flexible schedule.
Milestones & recognition
- Ian Brown served on the executive of the Wellington Law Association as its Secretary from 2004 to 2009.
- Ian Brown chaired the Ontario Legal Aid Area Committee for Guelph and Wellington County from 2006 to 2009.
- Ian Brown took part in the International Forums of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals in 2011 and 2012.
In the community
- Ian Brown sat on the Guelph Museums Board of Management from 1999 to 2009, serving as its Chair from 2005 to 2007.
- As part of the New Museum Steering and Fundraising Committee, Ian Brown was involved in the effort to secure the former Loreto Convent as the home of the new Guelph Civic Museum.
- Ian Brown was a volunteer director of the Guelph Junction Railway from 2013 until its dissolution in 2019.
- Ian Brown has volunteered with Immigrant Service of Guelph and Wellington and belongs to the Puslinch Optimists Club.
Affiliations & connections
- Speed River Collaborative: Ian Brown is a founding member of Speed River Collaborative, a group of lawyers formed in 2015 to improve family law services in Guelph and Wellington County.
- International Academy of Collaborative Professionals: Ian Brown is a member of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
Lawyers 1
The neighbourhood
Brown Family Law is based at 164 Norfolk Street in Guelph, and two other Guelph sites share the street. At number 28 stands the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, a Roman Catholic minor basilica and parish church that was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990. At number 52, on the hilltop beside that landmark church, the Guelph Civic Museum moved into the renovated Loretto Convent in 2012, where it holds more than 30,000 artifacts from Guelph's past.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Brown Family Law still take family cases to court?
- Brown Family Law no longer litigates. After 20 years in the courts, Ian Brown stopped court work to focus on settlement, and the practice now handles only out-of-court resolution through mediation or negotiation between lawyers.
- What do I get from a $400 consultation with Brown Family Law?
- Brown Family Law's consultation costs $400 plus HST and lasts 45 minutes to an hour. In that time Ian Brown explains how the law may affect you and suggests ways to settle the issues that are still open. It can be held over Zoom, by phone or in person, and it's booked by email at ian@brownfamilylaw.ca. (Fees as of October 2026.)
- How do Brown Family Law's trust retainer and weekly billing work?
- Brown Family Law asks every client to keep a retainer on deposit in its trust account until the matter is finished. Ian Brown reviews accounts weekly and bills any client once more than $500 of time has built up, charging for time spent rather than waiting for a milestone or a result. (Fees as of October 2026.)
- Can my spouse and I meet with both lawyers over Zoom through Brown Family Law?
- Brown Family Law often holds settlement meetings that bring both lawyers and both parties together, either face to face or on Zoom.
- At Brown Family Law, will I deal with Ian Brown or with an assistant or junior lawyer?
- Brown Family Law clients meet with Ian Brown, not an assistant or a junior lawyer, and they're kept in regular contact on the issues that matter. Ian Brown has practised as a sole practitioner since 2007.
Where to find them
164 Norfolk Street, Guelph, ON N1H 4J9 · 519-767-1111
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Family LawWills, Estates & TrustsThis listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on the firm’s own website. Verify licence status in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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