Misheal will sit in Welland while the three other appointees sit in Kitchener, Barrie, and Hamilton
Rasim “Sam” Misheal, Federation of Ontario Law Associations chair, has joined the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, Family Court as a judge.
Justice minister and attorney general Arif Virani announced that Frances M. Wood, Seema Jain, and Tammy W. Law have also been appointed as judges.
Burlington-based sole practitioner Misheal will be based in Welland. He replaces W.L. MacPherson (St. Catharines), who became a supernumerary judge on July 29, 2024.
In November 2024, Misheal began leading the Federation of Ontario Law Associations as chair. From 2014 to 2024, he acted for children in complex legal matters as a personal rights member with Ontario’s Office of the Children’s Lawyer. He started serving as a Family Court dispute resolution officer in 2021.
The chief justice’s internal court transfers created the Welland vacancy filled by Misheal. FOLA vice chair Allen Wynperle will be elevated to chair.
Wood will sit in Kitchener. She takes the place of L. Madsen (Hamilton) who was elevated to the Court of Appeal for Ontario on April 30, 2024.
She became a Small Claims Court deputy judge in 2011 and has been a dispute resolution officer in the Region of Peel since 2010. In 2008, she co-founded Mississauga-based Wood Gold LLP with fellow partner Jennifer Gold. Wood’s practice focused mainly on family law, though she has also tackled estate and civil litigation, particularly trial and appellate advocacy.
While Madsen sat in Hamilton, the chief justice initiated internal court transfers to create the vacancy filled by Wood in Kitchener.
Toronto-based sole practitioner Jain will be based in Barrie. She replaces J.P.L. McDermot, who became a a supernumerary judge on September 22, 2024.
In 2011, Jain launched her own firm, Jain Family Law and Mediation. She has served as a Superior Court of Justice dispute resolution officer and as roster mediator at court-linked programs.
The certified family arbitrator and accredited family law mediator previously chaired the Collaborative Divorce Toronto and was Ontario Association for Family Mediators vice president.
Law will sit in Hamilton. She replaces D.A. Broad (Brantford), who became a supernumerary judge on October 2, 2023.
From 2019 to 2021, she was president of the Ontario Association of Child Protection Lawyers. She was also a staff lawyer at Legal Aid Ontario’s Family Law Service Centre in Toronto and in the General Counsel Office before launching her own practice in 2014. Moreover, she served as counsel to the Motherisk Commission over 2016-2018.
The chief justice transitioned L. Bale (Hamilton – Family Court) into Broad’s Brantford post, creating the vacancy Law filled in Hamilton.
