Manafa Law Office
1 lawyer · Established 1998 · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 579 handling Family Law.
Free consultation
Free consultationAbout Manafa Law Office
Manafa Law Office is a small family and immigration law firm in Toronto, founded in 1998 by Joan C. Manafa. The office is on O'Connor Drive in the city's east end, and the firm serves clients across the Greater Toronto Area, including Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, Brampton, Newmarket, Markham, Mississauga, Milton, Ajax, and Oshawa. It offers legal services in both English and French. The practice concentrates on family law, covering divorce, child protection, matrimonial torts, and fertility and assisted reproduction law, along with immigration and citizenship matters, employment law in non-unionized workplaces, and advocacy for elderly and disabled clients on guardianship and disability benefit issues.
Manafa earned a Bachelor of Laws from the Universite de Moncton in French in 1994, then completed a Master of Laws at Dalhousie Law School, now the Schulich School of Law, in 1995. Called to the Ontario bar in 1997, Manafa began practising fertility and assisted reproduction law in 2001, one of the first practices of its kind in Canada, and belongs to the Legal Professional Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American Bar Association's Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technologies. The firm regularly appears before the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Superior Court of Justice, and the Ontario Court of Justice, as well as administrative tribunals.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- In 1994, Joan C. Manafa earned a Bachelor of Laws from the Universite de Moncton, in French.
- Manafa completed a Master of Laws at Dalhousie Law School, now the Schulich School of Law, in 1995.
- Manafa was called to the Ontario bar in October 1997 and opened Manafa Law Office in Toronto in 1998.
- In 2001, Manafa began practising fertility and assisted reproduction law, developing one of the first practices of its kind in Canada.
- Manafa served as an Ontario Bar Examiner in 2002, 2003, and 2004, marking bar admission exam papers in Professional Responsibility and Family Law, in both English and French.
- In 2004, Manafa received the Afro-Caribbean Award for contributions to the community.
In the community
- Manafa taught family law in French at College Boreal in Toronto from 2003 to 2004, including a module on assisted reproductive technology.
- Manafa is a member of the Canadian Bar Association's Elder Law Section and belongs to seven professional and legal organizations in total, including the Ontario Family Lawyers Association, the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the American Association for Justice, and l'Association des Juristes d'Expression Francaise de l'Ontario.
- Manafa has served on the boards of community organizations in the Toronto area.
Good to know
By appointmentFees & payment
Free consultationWho handles what
The neighbourhood
Manafa Law Office's office is on O'Connor Drive in Toronto, the street that lends its name to the nearby O'Connor-Parkview neighbourhood, an East York area bordered to the south by Taylor-Massey Creek. It's one of the more linguistically diverse pockets of the city, with English and Greek speakers concentrated in its western section, Tamil speakers to the east, and Bengali and Urdu speaking residents in the south. The area is largely residential, with tree-lined streets, several parks, and a mix of housing that runs from high-rise apartments to detached homes on quiet side streets.
That mix of languages and backgrounds fits a firm that offers its own services in English and French and represents clients from many different communities across the GTA in family and immigration matters.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Manafa Law Office handle fertility and surrogacy cases?
- Yes. The firm has practised fertility and assisted reproduction law since 2001, one of the first practices of its kind in Canada, and works on the parentage, custody, and support questions that can arise from donor conception, surrogacy, and other assisted reproduction arrangements.
- Can Manafa Law Office help with a transgender or LGBT family law matter?
- Yes. The firm practises transgender family law as a specialized part of its broader LGBT family law work, addressing the family law issues that can arise for transgender and LGBT individuals and families.
- I'm going through a divorce and need help with custody and support, can the firm help?
- Yes. Manafa Law Office practises both domestic and international divorce and family law, including custody, access, child support, spousal support, and division of property.
- Does the firm represent parents in child protection cases involving the Children's Aid Society?
- Yes. Manafa Law Office represents clients in child protection proceedings, a specialized area of Ontario family law that can involve the Children's Aid Society and the courts.
- Can Manafa Law Office help with an immigration or citizenship application?
- Yes. The firm's practice areas include business and corporate immigration, visiting Canada, immigration sponsorship, and study permits, alongside its family law work.
- Does the firm help elderly or disabled clients with guardianship or benefits issues?
- Yes. Manafa Law Office represents elderly and disabled clients before administrative tribunals and in court on guardianship, incapacity, and disability benefit issues, and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association's Elder Law Section.
Where to find them
1614 O'Connor Drive, Toronto, Ontario M4B 3P4, Canada · 416-972-0404
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