Carmen has a longstanding passion for advocacy and justice. Carmen earned her B.A. in
Political Science from UBC and in her Juris Doctorate from the University of Calgary. She studied as a visiting student at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain and at Allard Law in Vancouver, BC.

Through volunteer and work experience, Carmen has been helping clients navigate family law matters for nearly a decade. In her practice, she advises on, drafts, negotiates, and litigates on a range of family law matters from straightforward cohabitation agreements to cross-border parenting disputes. She has expertise in divorce, asset and debt protection and division, relocation, child and spousal support, and parenting arrangements. She has particular experience with cross-jurisdictional custody, child and spousal support, and property disputes, including those brought under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Carmen takes a holistic approach to resolving family law matters by striving to understand her clients' needs and objectives, then by building plans to bring them to fruition. She knows that in negotiation and litigation, she cannot control everything, but she can control the empathy, reasonableness, and candor she approaches her clients, her colleagues, and adverse parties with. She strives to bring this viewpoint to her practice daily.

Carmen is a past member of the Trial Lawyers of British Columbia Board and Executive Committee and presently sits on the Family Law Committee and has presented on the crossover between corporate and family law in drafting cohabitation and separation agreements. 

Beyond the office and the courtroom, Carmen is an engaged community member, who regularly volunteers her time for causes she cares about, including political advocacy and advocacy for the protection of children globally. She has been known to wear beige and finish off the office candy bowl, only to start a juice cleanse the next day.

Associations/Certifications

• Law Society of BC - Member

• TLABC – Executive Committee Member and Family Law Committee Member

• BC Family Unbundled Services – Roster Member

Publications

• Family Cross-Over: Corporate and Family Law (TLABC) - 2024

Notable Cases

• Der Woon v. Zadorozny, 2019 BCSC 2004

  Successfully argued at trial that the parties' relationship had ended by a specified date, such that the Claimant was out-of-time in bringing his claim.

• Der Woon v. Zadorozny, 2020 BCCA 95

  BC Court of Appeal upheld the Supreme Court of BC’s decision on Der Woon v. Zadorozny about the relationship timeline.

• Wong v. Tersigni, 2024 BCCA 36

  Successful on having an appeal dismissed on the issue of parenting time. The BC Court of Appeal upheld the Supreme Court of BC’s decision on granting the Respondent increased parenting time.

• G.E.I v. C.G.B, 2023 BCSC 269

  Successfully argued at trial for the Claimant to be the primary caregiver of the parties’ young child and for the Respondent to have significant safeguards put in place to prevent re-abduction. Successfully argued against relocation by the Respondent with the child outside of BC.