John P. Schuman is certified as a specialist in family law. He is an experienced and respected family lawyer, education lawyer and children’s rights lawyer. John Schuman is the partner heading the family law group at Devry Smith Frank LLP and he has earned the respect of his clients, judges, mediators and arbitrators for his sensible approach to resolving family law issues, his concern for children, and his understanding of complex financial matters.

John Schuman 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 at Queen’s University 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 Schuman 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.

John P. Schuman has litigated before every level of court in Ontario, several tribunals, Family arbitration, 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 earned the respect of the judges, mediators and arbitrators before whom he appears. In a recent court decision, Justice Sherr wrote “Mr. Schuman’s conduct, in this case, is an example of what lawyers are supposed to do in difficult cases.”

John has published articles in referred legal journals on the questioning of child witnesses, allegations of abuse when parents have separated, the role children should place in the court process and the rights of children to direct their own medical treatment. John P. Schuman is also the editor of the “Child in the Courtroom” chapter of Wilson on Children and the Law. He is co-author of the Child Protection Proceedings Chapter in Evidence in Family Law. John’s book “Guide to the Basics of Family Law” is available on Amazon – click here or here.

John is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Association of Family Mediators, the ADR Institute of Ontario, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Collaborative Practice Toronto, the Ontario Paramedic Association and he is on the board of directors of York Collaborative Practice. Outside of the practice of law, he is an avid swimmer, paddler and cyclist and retains an interest in pre-hospital emergency care.