After obtaining a BA (Hon.) from McGill in 2005 and a joint JD/MA from the University of Toronto in 2011, Cléa, fluent in English and French, articled as the bilingual clerk for the Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa. She was called to the Bar in Ontario in 2012 before returning to B.C. in 2013, where she was called to the Bar and has been practicing family law ever since.

Cléa has extensive experience representing clients in negotiations, mediation, and at all levels of court, with a particular emphasis on cases that have an international or extraprovincial focus, including international child abductions, interjurisdictional child and spousal support, and international property division. She is a qualified family law mediator with a specialization in cross-border mediations. Cléa is also a children’s lawyer and is a member of the BC Family Unbundling Roster.

Cléa joined Kitsilano Family Law as an associate in 2014. Under the mentorship of William R. Storey (Bill), the firm's founder, she developed exceptional research, negotiation, and advocacy skills. In 2019, as Bill ventured into the first steps towards retirement, she took over the helm at KFL and has since grown the practice, increasing the number of both lawyers and support staff. Cléa fosters a sense of collegiality in the office recognizable to clients and colleagues as they walk into the KFL office on a tree-lined street in Kitsilano.

A natural mentor, Cléa also supervises articling students at the Everyone Legal Clinic, the family law advocate at Mosaic, and serving as conflict counsel for the Rise Women's Legal Centre. She believes in the power of giving back and is only ever a phone call away from non-profit organizations like the Rise Women's Legal Centre, as well as articled students and junior lawyers who are just entering the profession.

She has presented on various topics, including the international aspects of family law, to legal organizations and non-profit organizations such as the Canadian Bar Association, the Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, and the Trial Lawyers Association of BC. She has published on international family law issues, including on spousal support in an international context in the Financial Remedies Journal.

Away from the office, Cléa loves heading into the backcountry to hike, snowshoe, and forage for berries and mushrooms. Her typical evening is spent knitting complex sweaters while watching violent detective shows. Cléa also loves travel and has visited 46 countries on five continents. She usually does so on a budget that drives her friends a bit crazy, but she sincerely believes that spending money on hotels is a waste and that it’s better to focus on finding good food options.

Cléa is able to serve clients in French.

Associations/Certifications

• Law Society of BC - Member

• Law Society of Ontario - Member

• Children and Youth Legal Centre

• Family Law Mediator with a Cross Border Certification

• BC Family Unbundled Services - Roster Member

• TLABC - Member

• Everyone Legal Clinic – Supervising Lawyer

• Mosaic – Supervising Lawyer

• Rise Women’s Legal Centre – Conflict counsel

Publications

• Financial Remedies Journal: Spousal Maintenance by Formula: The Canadian Experience

Published Cases

• Ding v. Law, 2024 BCSC 976

  Precedent setting case regarding the effect of a voluntary return on a Hague Convention petition

•  L.M.H. v. R.M.V, 2024 BCSC 1199

Application regarding jurisdiction over divorce, parenting matters, child support, spousal support, and property division

• Viltman v. Borovskaia, 2022 BCSC 381

Successfully applied for the return of the children to German pursuant to the Hague Convention and defended against allegations of grave risk of harm and consent

•  T.C. v. A.J., 2021 BCSC 1696

Application to vary a provisional child support order to confirm arrears and ongoing support under the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act

•  Batten v. Batten, 2021 BCSC 2507

Successfully applied for the return of the child to France pursuant to the Hague Convention

•  Parker v. Mitchel, 2016 BCSC 723

Defeated an application for a stay of proceedings and an order that the BC court had no jurisdiction, regarding property division and spousal support

•  Pepin v. McCormack, 2014 BCSC 2230

Successfully argued that the mother and child relocate to Scotland