Course Chairs
Todd R. Bell — Farris LLP, Vancouver
Nikki L. Charlton — Farris LLP, Vancouver
Morag M. J. MacLeod, KC — Barrister & Solicitor, Vancouver
About the Course Chairs
Todd Bell is a highly skilled litigator and trial lawyer with wide-ranging courtroom experience spanning all levels of Court in BC. Todd settles as many files through agreements or mediation as possible, but in the event of an impasse he litigates the matter to a resolution.
Todd's practice areas include the division of high net-worth assets including complex corporate structures, trusts, foreign property, and pensions. He practices in all manner of parenting and custody litigation including relocation and Hague Convention matters, adoption litigation and emergency protection from family violence. Todd has been the successful counsel on multiple seminal family law judgments. Todd received his LLB in 2007 and was called to the bar in 2008. Todd has served as adjunct faculty at the Allard School of Law at UBC, was co-chair of the CBA Family Law Subsection after several years on the executive, has been a member of the Editorial Board of the Family Law Practice Manual (CLEBC) since 2012, has joined the Editorial Board of for the Family Law Sourcebook (CLEBC) commencing in 2022, chairs conferences or presents legal papers on family law issues several times every year for organizations such as CLEBC, TLABC, LSS, CBA (Okanagan), and the Access Pro Bono Court of Appeal program.
In his personal life, Todd is an enthusiastic canoeist, having done hundreds of kilometers in each Ontario, the Yukon, BC, and northern Saskatchewan. He lives in Vancouver with his spouse, son, and two terribly behaved Labrador Retrievers.
Nikki Charlton is a partner at Farris LLP, where she has practiced family law since 2004. Nikki provides services from either a collaborative or litigation approach depending on the individual needs of her clients.
She is an accredited family law mediator, arbitrator, parenting coordinator, and has also been appointed by the courts and members of the family law bar to prepare Hear the Child reports. Nikki is also an elected Bencher of the Law Society of BC, and currently sits on the Discipline Committee, Complainant Review Committee, and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee.
Morag MacLeod, KC is a senior family law mediator and arbitrator in private practice in Vancouver. She is a member of LSBC, CBABC, and TLABC. She is the past president of the BC Parenting Coordinators Roster Society, past chair of the Family Law Litigation Group of the Trial Lawyers Association of BC, and a retired member of the Family Law Advocates Group. She was a member of the Editorial Board of the CLEBC Family Law Sourcebook from 2014 to 2024. She is a contributing author to various CLEBC and other legal publications, and a frequent presenter on family law mediation and arbitration topics.