John P. Schuman,
B.A.(Hons.),LL.B., LL.M.
Family Law, Education, Mediation
John received his Honours B.A. from Queens University in 1994. He obtained his EMCA (paramedic designation) in 1995. John attended Law School at the University of Windsor, graduating in 1998. He then went on to complete his LL.M. in child and family law in 1999. John’s thesis on questioning child witnesses was published that same year and remains a frequently cited authority on the proper way to obtain the evidence of children.
John has always practised in the areas of family law and children’s rights. He articled at a prominent Toronto litigation firm. After John was called to the bar in 2001, he practised at a firm known for its work in children’s legal issues and family law. He was also counsel for a children’s aid society before joining a prominent Toronto family law litigation boutique. He joined Devry Smith & Frank in 2009, where he practices mostly in the area of family law.
John has litigated before every level of court in Ontario, several tribunals and the Supreme Court of Canada. Several of John’s cases have been reported in law reports. John’s cases involving children’s rights have been reported in the national media.
John has published articles in referred legal journals on the questioning of child witnesses, allegations of abuse when parents have separated, and the rights of children to direct their own medical treatment. John is also the editor of the “Child in the Courtroom” chapter of Wilson on Children and the Law.
John is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario Association of Family Mediators, the ADR Institute of Ontario, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Collaborative Practice Toronto and the Ontario Paramedic Association. Outside of the practice of law, he is an avid swimmer, paddler and cyclist and retains an interest in pre-hospital emergency care.
John regularly contributes to the DSF Blog, you can see his entries here.
John has authored the following papers:
Consent to Treatment and Parenting
Allegations of Sexual Abuse When Parents have Separated
When Worlds Collide: The Legal Rights
Developmentally Appropriate Questions for Child Witnesses
John has acted as counsel for the following reported decisions:
Asiya Aliyeva, applicant and Seymur Aliyev, respondent
Kaufman v. Leo Baeck Day School
