Hilary Linton (J.D., LL.M., Cert. F. Med.)
Founder & President
Ms. Linton practised family law in Toronto, including as a partner with the law firm Chappell, Bushell, Stewart, before earning her LLM dispute resolution.
She founded the family law mediation, arbitration and parenting coordination firm Riverdale Mediation Ltd. in 2001.
In 2011 she was awarded a Ministry of the Attorney General contract to provide court-connected family information and mediation services in Toronto’s Superior Court of Justice, and in 2012 she began providing the same services in Toronto’s two Ontario Court of Justice family courts. These services are provided through mediate393 inc, known as Toronto Family Mediation Services.
Hilary continues to manage a private family mediation and arbitration practice at Riverdale along with its internationally acclaimed dispute resolution training program.
A significant focus of Ms. Linton’s work is exploring the impact that imbalances of negotiation power and domestic violence have on dispute resolution, gaining knowledge and skills to manage them and sharing her expertise with colleagues.
To contribute to a vibrant family dispute resolution community that emphasizes the importance of such dynamics, Hilary co-founded the Family Dispute Resolution Institute (FDRIO) in 2014, which offers several professional designations and Standards of Practice that are built on the “do no harm” principle.
Hilary is a past Director of the Ontario Association of Family Mediation (OAFM), a Founding Member of Collaborative Practice Toronto and a former chair of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) ADR Section. She is a long time supporter of Family Mediation Canada (FMC) and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts-Ontario.
Hilary holds professional FDR designations with Family Mediation Canada, the Family Dispute Resolution Institute of Ontario, the Ontario Association of Family Mediation and the ADR Institute of Ontario.
She is the 2014 recipient of the Ontario Bar Association’s Award of Excellence in ADR.