Intimate Partner Violence: Lawyers’ Professional Obligations

CLEA joins with the Child and Youth Law Section of the Manitoba Bar association to bring you this 90 minute webinar featuring guest speaker Deanne Sowter.

Systems abuse occurs when an abusive individual manipulates the justice system to perpetuate post-separation violence through the system – to control and harass their former spouse. Lawyers practicing in all areas of law need to be aware of this troubling dynamic. This webinar will provide an overview of intimate partner violence, including systems abuse, and introduce participants to some of the basic professional obligations that exist in relation to IPV.

In the second half of the program, using family lawyers as the example, and drawing from the law and rules governing lawyers, this webinar will then provide an overview of family lawyers’ existing professional obligations in relation to family violence more broadly. This will include duties in relation to screening, protective measures, parenting disputes, and non-adversarial dispute resolution processes.