Michael Julian Stangarone

With a practice spanning all areas of family law, Michael is a strong and leading litigator known for providing strategic, effective, and practical advocacy for clients navigating complex family law matters. He regularly appears at all levels of court in Ontario, including the Ontario Court of Justice, the Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, and has developed an expertise in international child abduction matters. He appeared on behalf of the Appellant before the Supreme Court of Canada in December 2024 in the international family law matter of Dunmore v. Mehralian, a case that clarified the test for courts to apply when determining a child’s habitual residence in a non-Hague Convention abduction matter. Michael’s practice includes all areas of family law including complex parenting, property and support matters, inter-jurisdictional support and parenting issues, international abduction (Hague Convention and non-Hague Convention) matters, relocation cases, trials, and appeals. He has also testified as an expert in family law trials.

Michael is also a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Advocates’ Society, the Ontario Bar Association, and the Canadian Bar Association.

Author of numerous articles for legal education programs and various publications, and popular speaker at international conferences and continuing legal education programs Recognized by his peers as a leading Family Law Practitioner and has been awarded as a 2020 Canadian Legal Lexpert® Ranked Lawyer Voted by his peers at the bar to the 2021, 15th Edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada Presented at the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) Annual Meeting, USA and Canadian Chapters in 2023

quoted in various family law articles including The Lawyers Daily, Canadian Lawyer Magazine, The Law Times and Toronto Sun, and has been featured in the Toronto Star.