Debbie Hoffman

Debbie lives in Waterloo, Ontario. Born in Renfrew, Ontario she is Woodland Métis, an Algonquin of the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation. Debbie went to high school in Red Deer, Alberta and moved to the Whitehorse, Yukon in 1994. She was called to the bar in the Yukon and British Columbia in 1995. Debbie lived in the Yukon for 22 years, specializing in family law and general civil litigation.

Trained as a collaborative lawyer and mediator, Debbie has always been interested in keeping families out of court. When she moved back to her Southern Ontario roots in 2016, Debbie continued to practice family law and dedicated her practice to collaborative conflict resolution and mediation.

“In collaborative law we work together to achieve the best outcome for families. There is a clear commitment, entered into through a binding contract, to deal with asset division, debts, parenting time and decision making without going to court.”

Having worked on numerous trials throughout her career, Debbie knew there had to be a better approach that didn’t take such a huge financial and emotional toll on clients and their children.

“In collaborative practice we use a wrap-around approach to support families. We work with financial, family, and other professionals throughout the process to ensure that clients make supported and informed decisions. Lawyers are an integral part of the support team, and we design the process, but our clients are the ones in the driver’s seat when it comes to decision-making.”

Collaborative law allows clients to remain in control of decision making instead of handing that power to the lawyers and a Judge. In the court process, clients have very little say over the final outcome. Debbie helps clients achieve the best outcome by improving communication and brainstorming outcomes in a respectful environment where the result is tailored to fit the unique needs of each client and their family.

My Associate, Fermin - How fermin got his name

Fermin is originally from the Dominican Republic. Before moving to Canada Fermin lived on the streets of Punta Cana, settling in at a car dealership by the airport where a kindly security guard fed him and a few other street dogs. The security guard sometimes hauled out a sleeping bag and slept with the dogs at the dealership overnight.

A woman who worked at the airport next door noticed one day that the security guard hadn’t been around for a while and the dogs were no longer there. The woman went to the dealership to ask what had happened and was told the security guard, who was elderly, had passed away.

A few months later the woman was driving home from work and took a wrong turn, ending up on a street she hadn’t been on before. As she drove down the street, she saw a beautiful dog and recognized him immediately. The poor boy had a sore on his snout and he was quite thin. The security guard had used a a long Spanish name for the dog that the woman couldn’t remember so, instead, she named the dog after the kindly security guard, Mr. Fermin.

Fermin was rescued by Fetch and Release, transported to Toronto and fostered in Guelph for a few months until he came to live with us on August 10, 2019.

Fermin looks forward to meeting new clients and offers cameo appearances on Zoom where he can be seen stretching, yawning, snoozing and practicing yoga.

daily walks and meditation

help us collaborate

from a place that is groundeD

AND FULLY PRESENT