About Rebecca Stanley

The focus of my practice is to empower people as they navigate the unique stresses (and opportunities) that accompany significant life transitions. My clients have said that my calm, strength and wisdom provide a solid anchor in the sometimes stormy seas of separation and divorce. I feel fortunate to be part of the Connect team, a collective of legal professionals and staff who understand that it is a privilege to support families through times of challenge and transformation.

I bring a rich background to my family law and mediation practice, having previously worked with families as a UBC chaplain and pastor. My undergraduate and graduate studies included courses in marriage and family counselling, which taught me to attune to the emotional aspects of separation and divorce as well as the legal ones. While not a therapist, I work with families holistically, listening to their stories and connecting them with professional and community resources when needed.

During my legal training, I completed various court-intensive work experiences, serving as a Judicial Extern to Vancouver’s Provincial Court judiciary while in law school and as a BC Supreme Court law clerk following graduation. My law clerk role in particular, where I assisted six judges and oversaw family law projects for the whole court, provided me with invaluable insight into the court process and the rare opportunity to learn at the feet of judges. This experience together with my training in collaborative law and mediation enable me to provide my clients with the full array of dispute resolution options to resolve their family law issues.

As a practitioner, my sole focus has been family law. Before joining Connect, I articled at Alexander Holburn LLP in Vancouver, then relocated with my family to Abbotsford where I ran a busy family law practice at RDM Lawyers. I have been working with Connect Family Law since August 2017 primarily from our Vancouver office, then our Surrey office and now expanding my mediation and legal services into the Abbotsford and Chilliwack communities.