Ballantyne Family Law
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.3 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,276 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 423 handling Family Law.
About Ballantyne Family Law
Ballantyne Family Law does family law and nothing else, helping people with everything from a straightforward divorce to a separation tangled up in hard parenting or money questions. The team's aim is representation that's compassionate and thoughtful while keeping costs in check.
The team is trained in collaborative law. Depending on what a file needs and how complicated it is, the firm may suggest the collaborative process, negotiation, mediation or arbitration, with the goal of helping clients make sound choices that protect their financial security and their family relationships. When a matter is urgent, or nothing else has worked, the lawyers go to court for their clients at the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court or the Court of Appeal.
Karen Ballantyne has practised family law since 2003. Nadine Waldman, called to the Bar in 2008, can work with clients in French as well as English, and Lily Chapnik, called in 2022, trained as a social worker as well as a lawyer. Law clerk Bonnie Frieday, whose background includes court reporting, legal research and legal writing, helps clients prepare their financial statements and put together simple divorce applications, and consultations are booked through Bonnie.
When parenting or financial issues call for it, the firm can retain outside professionals on a client's behalf. Its regular collaborators range from mediators, therapists and child psychologists to business valuators and tax specialists, along with lawyers in related fields like estates, criminal and real estate law. The office is in midtown Toronto, at 10 Alcorn Avenue, Suite 201.
Practice areas
Cohabitation agreements and marriage contracts
Couples planning to live together or marry can have the firm negotiate a cohabitation agreement or marriage contract that's fair to both partners. The lawyers work through what each partner has to do so the contract can be enforced if the relationship later ends.
Our guide: How to Hire a Family Lawyer in Toronto
Separation agreements, worked out collaboratively
The firm's lawyers are collaboratively trained and work with the other spouse's lawyer to reach a fair agreement. Clients get the facts they need to decide, advice on every available option, and creative ideas for meeting their own needs and their children's.
Our guide: How to Get a Divorce in Ontario
Parenting and support
Parenting issues are a focus of Karen Ballantyne's practice. The firm helps parents negotiate a schedule built around a child's age, development and particular needs, makes sure children's financial needs are covered, and works out whether a client is entitled to spousal support.
Property claims for married and common-law spouses
Married spouses' property rights are set by provincial legislation, while common-law spouses can't claim equalization but may have trust claims or claims based on a joint family venture. The firm's lawyers guide clients through both sets of rules.
Litigation and arbitration
When a dispute won't settle, the firm represents clients in litigation or arbitration, and it has handled separation and divorce cases across southern Ontario. Karen Ballantyne and Nadine Waldman have each appeared at every level of the Ontario courts, the Court of Appeal included.
Good to know
Accessible parking
By appointmentHow Ballantyne Family Law works
Ballantyne Family Law starts from the view that every client should look at all the options open to them before picking a route. Collaborative work is the firm's preference and litigation is its last resort, and the team's job is to give clients both the information to understand their choices and the confidence to act on them.
Milestones & recognition
- Karen Ballantyne graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2002, then articled with a large Bay Street firm before being called to the Ontario Bar in 2003.
- At the University of Western Ontario, where Nadine Waldman earned a J.D., Nadine served as Pro Bono Students Canada Coordinator and ran the program for over 100 student volunteers.
- Nadine Waldman founded the Family Law Project, which supports litigants without lawyers in the Family Court in London, Ontario.
- Lily Chapnik articled at the Office of the Children's Lawyer, helping represent children across Ontario.
In the community
- Karen Ballantyne has presented at the Toronto Family Information Session and spoken at many Law Society of Ontario continuing legal education programs.
- Nadine Waldman tutors future lawyers preparing for the family law portion of the Bar Ad Exams and volunteers with Toronto's Advice and Settlement Counsel Project.
Affiliations & connections
- Association of Family and Conciliation Courts: Karen Ballantyne is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.
- Ontario Bar Association: Karen Ballantyne is an Ontario Bar Association member, and Nadine Waldman belongs to its Family Law Division.
- Canadian Bar Association: Nadine Waldman is a member of the Canadian Bar Association.
- Advice and Settlement Counsel Project: Nadine Waldman volunteers with this Toronto pilot project, which gives self-represented family litigants summary advice from family lawyers and was developed with the Toronto Superior Court of Justice Family Bench and Bar Committee.
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Languages on the roster
- English, French
The neighbourhood
The firm works from Suite 201 at 10 Alcorn Avenue, a brick and stucco building that was completely restored in 1991. Homes stood on the site between 1902 and 1925, and from 1925 to 1950 the address belonged to two hardware companies, Walkers and Sons Ltd. Wholesale Hardware and Whites Hardware. Inside, the lobby pairs terrazzo floors with mahogany detailing, and both it and many of the suites look out on a sunny interior courtyard.
The building sits just west of Yonge Street in midtown Toronto, a two-minute walk from Summerhill subway station, with a bus stop about a minute away.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I work with a Ballantyne Family Law lawyer in French?
- Ballantyne Family Law's Nadine Waldman can assist clients in both French and English.
- Does Ballantyne Family Law bring in child psychologists or business valuators on a file?
- Ballantyne Family Law can retain outside professionals for clients on parenting or financial issues. It routinely works with professionals such as parenting coordinators, child psychologists, chartered business valuators and children's lawyers.
- Can the firm's law clerk help me with financial statements and a simple divorce application?
- Ballantyne Family Law's law clerk, Bonnie Frieday, helps clients prepare their financial statements and put together simple divorce applications. Bonnie also deals with the courts and clients, drafts orders, and prepares materials for court, mediation and arbitration.
- Does Ballantyne Family Law have a lawyer with social work training?
- Ballantyne Family Law's Lily Chapnik trained as a social worker as well as a lawyer. Lily recognizes how court can drain a client emotionally and financially, and is ready to negotiate toward a fair settlement.
Where to find them
10 Alcorn Avenue, Suite 201, Toronto, ON M4V 3A9 · 416-479-4119
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Family LawThis 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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