In 2021, Jon Richardson and Amanda Hall shared a vision: a reinvention of the longstanding family law firm model, a modernized milieu where the lawyers themselves would be looked after with the same attention and diligence they afford their clients.
As Jon contextualizes it, “Family Law is an exhausting profession. We wanted to create a firm based on supporting one another and making sure our lawyers’ needs were met.” Adds Amanda, “We had seen lawyers burn out from unrealistic expectations. We wanted to focus on supporting our staff and colleagues.”
Those colleagues came to include Marta Siemiarczuk and Erin Lepine, who joined the firm in 2023. Marta had been practicing “Big Law” for 21 years. Disheartened from having witnessed promising young lawyers leave the profession due to stifling demands, she jumped at the chance to co-create a firm that understood and addressed the challenges of the modern law professional, was deeply committed to ensuring long-term professional sustainability, and provided unparalleled service to its clients. “I wanted to be part of a true firm rather than a group of individual lawyers working in a shared space sharing expenses.” Erin is equally happy. “This is the best group of people I’ve ever worked with!” she enthuses.
From left: Marta Siemiarczuk, Jon Richardson, Erin Lepine and Amanda Hall
Jon Richardson, Amanda Hall, Marta Siemiarczuk, and Erin Lepine of Richardson Hall LLP, envisioned a modern law firm that prioritizes the well-being of both clients and their legal team. Their collaborative approach has redefined family law in Ottawa.
“We wanted to create a firm based on supporting one another and making sure our lawyers’ needs were met.”
All four had crossed paths before; this was a golden opportunity to parlay their mutual respect into a single, dynamic force. “Part of our decision to move forward together,” elucidates Erin, “was rooted in what we could accomplish together. As we all have different strengths, we realized that we complimented each other in a way that would provide excellent family law services to the Ottawa community.”
Ever since, Richardson Hall LLP has bettered the lives of a wide range of clients. The firm specializes in litigation and appeal work, as well as marriage contracts, cohabitation and separation agreements, and dispute resolution. It also deals with less common files such as issues surrounding international and inter-jurisdictional parenting. Periodically, the partners get retained on cases where people’s constitutional rights are impacted. In addition, Erin maintains a fertility law practice, an ever-evolving aspect of the law centered on surrogacy agreements, egg/sperm donor issues, and embryo donation.
Collaboration is the cornerstone of the firm. “There’s no time our doors aren’t open to one another,” Jon outlines. “We’ll also schedule check-ins with our associates to ensure they have all the information and tools that they need.”
“We all know who likes to do what type of work and who is really good at something,” Marta contributes, “so we can bring each other in on cases as needed.” In fact, the firm will often pair an older lawyer with a younger one.
“Clients get a lot of value for their money from that. They have the benefit of a senior lawyer’s strategic advice while other work can be done at lower rates.”
Though the firm has only been up and running for three years, it’s growing by leaps and bounds and now includes 5 associate lawyers, 6 staff, and a student, making it one of the largest family law teams in Ottawa. Despite its humble roots—a whirlwind, three-month set-up during the onset of the pandemic in which the founders worked in lawn chairs—word about the philosophical foundation of the firm spread quickly, not to mention its cutting-edge, cloud-based technology, facilitating a hybridized work model.
“When we advertised our firm,” Amanda remembers, “we had senior assistants apply for the job, which was game-changing. It helped us be a success from the start.”
A success that’s in accelerated growth. Time and income determination is complicating spousal support. Pension and property division is growing equally complex. And as mentioned, fertility is becoming an increasingly delicate area. These are matters the firm handles with its signature premium on honesty and affordability. “I’m brutally honest with my clients,” Jon expresses unequivocally. “I tell them my opinion of their chances and the total cost (both financial and also in terms of time) in our initial meeting. We have a tremendous staff who can do a lot of work to help contain client costs.” Adds Amanda, “We run a cost-benefit analysis with our clients at each step of the file. We will not bring clients down the path of litigation unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“We have your back,” Marta posits confidently. “We work creatively with you to come up with the best solution.”
“We truly care about our clients and the work that we do,” adds Erin. “We have a strong group of lawyers and an ability to collaborate on files where needed. No one is working alone here, which is an added benefit to the client.”
