For your family.
Michelle Volkmann, L.L.M., provides full family law services in British Columbia. Let Michelle help you and your family understand and excercise your legal rights.
Services
Michelle Volkmann is an experienced family lawyer practicing in British Columbia, Canada. Under the banner of her law practice, Volkmann Law, Michelle provides her clients with full family law services.
These services range from short, limited engagements, such as preparing a cohabitation agreement, to complex, time-consuming matters involving litigation.
Michelle has been practicing all over BC for her entire career, during which she has built a large and varied network of lawyers and other professionals. She can draw on that network in a number of ways that benefit her clients, including referring a client to another lawyer for representation, or obtaining specialist advice informing a legal strategy.
Consulting
- Independent legal advice
- Separation agreements
- Cohabitation agreements
- Adoption
- Parenting arrangements
- General family law advice
Representation
- Divorce and common-law separation
- Child support and spousal support
- Property division
- Parental alienation
- Responding to applications
- Out-of-court settlements
- Four-way meetings
- Child relocation, including opposition
- Protection orders
Litigation
- Child and spousal support enforcement
- Priority parenting matters
- Family and case management conferences
- BC Provincial and BC Supreme Court matters
- Jurisdictional disputes, interprovincial and international
- Short-leave applications
- Imputation of income
Michelle’s approach
Michelle is a family lawyer with experience in many resolution modalities, including litigation. She approaches family law disputes from a compassionate and all-encompassing perspective.
Guiding clients to make informed decisions
Michelle’s priority is that her clients understand all their legal options and have access to the tools they need to resolve their disputes. Michelle represents her clients and their interests comprehensively and cost-effectively. She guides her clients through the full resolution process, whether towards an out-of-court resolution or through litigation in the courts. She represents clients in family law matters all over British Columbia.
Compassionate, strong representation
Michelle has always had a strong sense of justice. Choosing a legal career out of a desire to help people, her foremost value is compassion. She is highly motivated to defend her clients’ interests, understanding that the legal system can be particularly challenging. She takes care to understand her clients’ stories and intent, then presents the facts and legal aspects in a clear, unbiased, and kind manner. She then works to ensure that clients have all they need to make informed decisions and have her execute an agreed-upon strategy.
Biography
After obtaining her final law degree, Michelle performed her articles at a well-regarded criminal law firm in Vancouver, BC. While she always knew she would work with families, this excursion into criminal law provided her with a strong foundation in litigation, court procedure, and how criminal and family law interact.
Michelle grew up in South Africa and now makes her home in the Lower Mainland of BC. Three law degrees from South African and Canadian universities give her a comprehensive, nuanced perspective of the law and how different legal frameworks interact.
Besides English, Michelle is fluent in Afrikaans.
Outside of her legal career, Michelle enjoys exploring our country, taking particular pleasure in our natural beauty and the diverse animal life. She enjoys exploring on foot, by bike, or on horseback, and some occasional target shooting.
Credentials
- Master of Laws, LLM, Allard Law School, University of British Columbia
- Master of Laws, LLM, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
- Bachelor of Laws, LLB, University of South Africa
- Bachelor of Commerce, Financial Management, University of South Africa
Associations
- Law Society of British Columbia
