Dr. Anita Dorczak

#1400, First Edmonton Place
EDMONTON, Alberta T5J 3S9
Canada
Office Phone: 780-424-1212
Member since 2006
Membership Type: IACP

Profession(s)

Barrister, Lawyer, Mediator

o Practice governed by kindness and compassion
o Over 30 years of experience
o Fluent in 3 languages

After many years of practice I became deeply disillusioned with the adversarial process which I view as ineffective, expensive and failing to respond to the idiosyncrasy of family conflict.

My passion for peacemaking has taken me to teach and present on collaborative law in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Panama and I will continue to promote this model of dispute resolution as more effective and less costly but most importantly best suited for family disputes.

In order to assist families with their conflict resolution, I have become certified in:

a) Elder Mediation (Specializing in conflict resolution involving older adults)
b) Parenting Coordination (Assisting high conflict families with parenting issues)
c) Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (Helping clients resolve conflict with more presence and less stress)

I consider it my mission to educate parents on the destructive impact of conflict on the health of their children and to empower them to make the decisions based on their family unique experience and profound love for their children.

Remember: do not litigate but rather agree to collaborate!

Area(s) of Practice: Family Law, Personal Injury, Wills, Mediation including Elder Mediation, Parenting Coordination
License(s): Law Society of Alberta, Canada 1991

Professional Activities

2009-2014 Elder Mediation Committee, Association for Conflict Resolution 2011-2014 Chair, ADR section of Canadian Bar Association 2015-2016 Co-chair, Association of Collaborative Professionals in Edmonton 2019-2020 President, International Listening Association 2016 - 2022 Elder Mediation Committee, Family Mediation Canada 2017- present Board Member, Global Collaborative Law Council 2023 – present Co-chair of the Collaborative Law Committee, ABA Dispute Resolution Section

Undergraduate Education

Bachelor of Laws, University of Alberta, 1990

Postgraduate Education

Master of Arts degree in English Philology - University of Wroclaw
Doctor of Philosophy - University of Alberta, 1990

Professional Education

Certified Elder Mediator (2013), Family Mediation Canada
Certified Listening Professional (2015), International Listening Association
Certified Parenting Coordinator
Certified on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction