Benmor Family Law Group
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.4 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,276 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 423 handling Family Law.
About Benmor Family Law Group
Clients rate this firm highly on Google.
Benmor Family Law Group is a Toronto family law firm that helps people through separation and divorce, whether they need a mediator, a divorce coach, a parenting coordinator or a full legal team in their corner from start to finish. Steve Benmor founded it more than 30 years ago, and the founder's experience is rooted in settling divorces for families with significant wealth and assets. When you retain the firm, you're retaining its entire team for your case.
Steve Benmor is a Certified Specialist in Family Law, a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and holds a Master of Laws in Family Law. Today the founder works full time as a divorce mediator and arbitrator while remaining the firm's principal lawyer.
The lawyers come from varied corners of the justice system. Leanne Townsend prosecuted cases for 16 years as an Assistant Crown Attorney, where the role included Domestic Violence Co-Lead, and later became a family law partner on Bay Street before founding Townsend Family Law. Jessica Brant started out more than 20 years ago as a family law clerk working on every stage of family court litigation, earned a J.D. from the University of Ottawa in 2012 and went on to run a practice in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Yashika Dhall worked at the Family Responsibility Office, seeing how Ontario enforces support orders, and articled at the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee.
Not everyone wants or needs full representation. The firm's 30-minute Divorce Strategy Sessions are open to anyone separating or divorcing, with or without a lawyer of their own, and they're telephone sessions, booked through an online scheduler with no retainer fee and no commitment. The office is in Suite 600 at 77 Bloor Street West in Toronto.
History
In 2001 the practice ran under the founder's own name, as Steven D. Benmor, B.Sc., LL.B., out of Suite 900 at 45 Sheppard Avenue East in North York.
March 2026 marked a turning point. Steve Benmor wrapped up a two-week trial that was the founder's last as a litigator, closing out 32 years in that role. Once the remaining litigation files are wound down, Steve Benmor's own services will be offered only as a family and estates mediator and arbitrator.
Practice areas
Parenting plans
Benmor Family Law Group can set up a parenting schedule early in a separation, even while the parents still live under the same roof.
Our guide: How to Hire a Family Lawyer in Toronto
Property and the matrimonial home
On the financial side of a separation, the firm's work covers buying out or selling the matrimonial home and dividing pensions between spouses.
Our guide: How to Get a Divorce in Ontario
Court representation
Leanne Townsend's practice takes in divorces involving substantial wealth, cases where there's been family violence, and complicated disputes over parenting and property. Jessica Brant takes on complex cases involving neurodiverse children with significant psycho-social needs, and Yashika Dhall practises family law exclusively.
The Benmor Med/Arb Process
Steve Benmor created a Med/Arb process in which a single neutral mediator and arbitrator stays with a file from negotiation to a binding decision, so any unresolved issues carry straight into arbitration without a new neutral. It's used for divorce and estates disputes, including contested wills, disagreements among siblings or beneficiaries, and concerns about how an executor is running an estate. Steve Benmor offers it from Toronto to families across Canada, and mediation with Steve Benmor is billed at an hourly rate of $375 per spouse ($750 per couple). (Fees as of October 2026.)
Parenting coordination
Because Steve Benmor is a lawyer as well as a parenting coordinator, money issues that come up alongside parenting disagreements, such as child support, sharing expenses, tuition and activity costs, can be settled in the same process instead of in court.
Divorce coaching
Leanne Townsend and Jessica Brant both work as divorce coaches for clients who'd rather run their own negotiations, mediations and hearings. Coaching takes in goal setting, strategy, editing court documents and preparing clients for each of those events, and it's billed in 30-minute increments.
Prenups and cohabitation agreements
A prenuptial or cohabitation agreement here can include terms that protect a professional practice for doctors, dentists, lawyers or accountants. Each partner then reviews and signs with a separate lawyer of their own.
Good to know
Accessible parking
By appointmentHow Benmor Family Law Group works
Benmor Family Law Group's mission is to help clients stay out of divorce court, hold down their costs, avoid conflict and come to an amicable settlement. Clients are treated as members of the team, and the team commits to regular communication, empathy, clarity, transparency and hope as each family works through the change. It also commits to being reachable around the clock, 24/7, when a client needs it.
On litigation files, time is recorded electronically in tenths of an hour, so it's charged in six-minute units.
Milestones & recognition
- Steve Benmor is accredited as a Collaborative Family Lawyer.
In the community
- Leanne Townsend hosts two podcasts on separation and divorce, Divorcing Well and Divorce Explained.
- Steve Benmor's writing has appeared in LexisNexis's Law360, including a piece on how Canada's judges are feeling about their work.
- Jessica Brant, a member of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, regularly advocates for Indigenous rights.
Affiliations & connections
- International Academy of Family Lawyers: Steve Benmor is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers.
- ADR Institute of Ontario: Steve Benmor holds the Certified Family Mediator designation from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario.
- Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario: Steve Benmor holds the institute's Specialist in Parenting Coordination designation, and Marigona Binakaj is an active member.
- Fanshawe College: Leanne Townsend is a professor in Fanshawe College's Paralegal Program.
Lawyers 4
Certified Specialists
A designation granted by the Law Society of Ontario, not a self-declared area of focus.
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Law schools
- Queen's University 1 of 4 lawyers
- Languages on the roster
- Hindi, Urdu
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
The firm's office is in 77 Bloor Street West, a 20 storey Class A office tower in the heart of Bloor-Yorkville, right where Bloor Street West meets Bay Street. Getting there by transit is easy: the subway and bus stops are only steps away. The tower dates to 1969, when it was completed for developer Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd. to a design by Zeidler Partnership Architects with Bregman + Hamann Architects.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a flat fee for a prenup at Benmor?
- Benmor Family Law Group charges a one-time flat fee of $2,825, HST included, for a customized prenuptial or cohabitation agreement. It typically takes 3 to 4 weeks to go from the first consultation to a signed agreement. (Fees as of October 2026.)
- What happens to the $5,000 deposit Benmor Family Law Group asks for at the start of a case?
- Benmor Family Law Group holds the $5,000 deposit in trust as security until the final account is issued at the end of the case. It isn't applied to interim accounts, and whatever isn't used is refunded to the client when the case ends.
- Can I get help in Hindi, Urdu or Albanian at Benmor?
- At Benmor Family Law Group, Yashika Dhall speaks conversational Hindi and Urdu, and Marigona Binakaj, the firm's client manager and law clerk, is fluent in Albanian.
- Who do I contact to set up mediation or Med/Arb with Steve Benmor?
- Benmor Family Law Group books Steve Benmor's mediations through senior law clerk Marigona Binakaj at 416-489-8890. For Med/Arb, the contact for information or to retain Steve Benmor is Susanna Akpan.
- Can Benmor point me to someone who can value my matrimonial home?
- Benmor Family Law Group refers clients to Toronto Realtor Samantha Graff Benmor of Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd. for questions about what a home is worth and when and how to sell it.
Where to find them
77 Bloor Street West, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1M2 · 416-489-8890
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