Gallant, Riley

Riley has been practicing law family law since 2009. Her professional life is dedicated to helping families navigate the issues that follow a relationship breakdown, including issues relating to parenting, finances and property division. Although Riley is an experienced litigator, she knows that going to court can be slow, stressful and costly. She believes that the best outcomes for families are achieved through a collaborative approach. The process can move forward at a pace dictated by the parties and space is provided for creative solutions that meet the interests of all family members. No two families are exactly alike and each unique family situation will have it’s own unique best outcome. The collaborative approach is especially beneficial when children are involved in the family unit. Exposure to high levels of conflict and stress at home can significantly impact a child’s development. Riley’s litigation practice includes representing the children of parents who are involved in high-conflict separation and divorce court actions, so she is keenly aware of how an adversarial process negatively impacts kids. The collaborative process provides an opportunity for separated parents to practice communicating with one another in a respectful, interest based and solution-focused way with trained professionals providing assistance and guidance. Hopefully, this method of communication and style of decision-making will assist parents in successfully co-parenting together long-term, even after the collaborative process concludes.

Riley grew up in Saskatoon and graduated from the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 2008. She moved to Edmonton after completing her law degree and spent the first part of her career working at Legal Aid Alberta’s Family Law Office. In 2017 she became a  partner at Latitude Family Law, a firm she founded with four other experienced family law practitioners. She then pursued collaborative family law training to expand the range of services she provides to her clients.  She likes to stay on top of developments in family law and frequently attends training sessions and seminars. She has been involved with the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) Alberta Branch Family Law Section executive since 2014 and is the Chair of the executive for the 2019 – 2020 year.  She is also an executive member of the CBA Child and Youth Section. She has volunteered as a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2013 and enjoys volunteering with various other organizations.