Ms. Robins received her LL.B. from the University of Ottawa in 2008. She also achieved a Bachelor of Social Sciences Degree, with Honours in Criminology in 2005. She is a member of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa (DCAO), the Women in Canadian Criminal Defence organization, and is a former vice-president of the Child Protection Defence Bar Association of Ottawa (CPDAO).
Ms. Robins appears regularly before the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice, and has also appeared before the Divisional Court. Ms. Robins is an experienced advocate in Child Protection Court and Criminal Court, including Youth Court, Mental Health Court, Indigenous Peoples’ Court, and Drug Treatment Court.
Ms. Robins routinely provides legal advice and representation to people involved with child welfare agencies, including adoptive parents, foster parents, kin and birth parents. Ms. Robins has successfully argued for children to be returned to the care of their parents and has secured alternative placements for children when a return to their parents is not possible. When children are placed for adoption through child protection proceedings, Ms. Robins assists parents and other family members with securing contact with their children, known as Openness.
Ms. Robins also advises and represents parents who may need to pursue Secure Treatment Applications for children with significant mental heath disorders.
Ms. Robins represents clients involved in family law matters, primarily when the issues in dispute relate to parenting time and decision-making responsibility (formerly known as custody and access), and in situations where there has been domestic violence.
Ms. Robins also represents adults and youth charged with a broad range of criminal offences. She has successfully defended clients charged with impaired driving, dangerous driving causing death, uttering threats, harassment, assaults, sexual assaults, thefts, robberies, murder, and various other offences. She also advises victims and witnesses involved in criminal matters, including where applications are brought to obtain a complainant’s personal records.
In addition to having attended hundreds of court appearances on behalf of her clients, Ms. Robins has considerable experience assisting clients in achieving favourable outcomes via mediation and various other forms of alternative dispute resolution.
Ms. Robins is a frequent speaker and lecturer to other lawyers on criminal and child protection law and related procedure. Ms. Robins also conducts speaking engagements in the community with a view to assisting individuals who are most effected by encounters with police and child welfare agencies.
In addition to maintaining her own practice, Ms. Robins regularly mentors junior lawyers and law students.
In 2017, Ms. Robins was awarded the inaugural Justice Heidi Levenson Polowin Award for excellence in child protection advocacy.
- We defend clients charged with any offence under federal or provincial statute, including the Criminal Code of Canada, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, National Defence Act, Provincial Offences Act, and the Highway Traffic Act.
- We protect our client’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which often results in the exclusion of evidence that has been illegally obtained by the police.
- We provide representation at bail hearings, pre-trial proceedings, trials, sentencing hearings and appeals.
- We have experience representing clients who choose to have their matter proceed through the Mental Health Court, Drug Treatment Court, Indigenous Peoples Court.
- We defend Young Persons charged with offences under the Criminal Code of Canada, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Provincial Offences Act, and Highway Traffic Act.
- We ensure that special rights accorded to young persons in the Youth Criminal Justice Act are respected.
- We represent victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings to ensure that their rights are independently protected, and defend the confidentiality of their personal records.
- We provide independent legal advice to witnesses summoned to testify at trials
- We represent clients involved with Children’s Aid Societies from the time of first contact with an Agency all the way through to file closure
- We provide advice to clients who are working voluntarily with Children’s Aid Societies, including advice on Family Safety Network Meetings, Voluntary Service Agreements and Temporary Care Agreements.
- We represent clients in all court proceedings involving Children’s Aid Societies, including Applications for Supervision Orders, Interim Care Orders (formerly Society Wardship) and Extended Care Orders (formerly Crown Wardship)
- We represent clients in specialised Secure Treatment proceedings where a Children’s Aid Society or caregiver is seeking to have a child or youth placed in Secure Treatment
- We represent clients in Openness proceedings to ensure meaningful ongoing contact between our clients and a child, where that child is the subject of adoption proceedings
- We represent clients in Proceedings before the Child and Family Services Review Board in challenging decisions made by Children’s Aid Societies
- We represent family and community members who wish to present a plan to have a child placed in their care
- We represent foster parents who wish to have their voice heard in protection proceedings or in disputes with a Children’s Aid Society, where an Application to the Child and Family Services Board is required
- We provide advisory services, policy development and training to organizations working with children and youth, such as school boards, foster parent associations, adoption agencies, group homes, community and sporting associations
- We ensure that special rights and considerations accorded to Indigenous Peoples are respected in criminal and child welfare matters
- We have experience representing clients who choose to have criminal matters proceed through the Indigenous Peoples Court
- We have experience advising Bands and community based Indigenous organizations in their interactions with Children’s Aid Societies
- We brought a Charter challenge to the definition of Indian and Native Person in Ontario’s child welfare law, as it failed to include all Indigenous Peoples
- We represent clients on a broad range of family law issues including decision making, parenting time (formerly, custody and access), child support and spousal support.
- We provide advice and representation in matters where partner violence is a concern requiring the urgent commencement of proceedings.
- We provide advice and representation in non-litigation aspects of family law, including drafting and finalization of separation agreements.
- We represent clients in Mediations, Family Group Conferences and Circles of Care in family and child protection matters.
- We represent clients in non-judicial settlement conferences facilitated by Legal Aid Ontario.
- We provide independent legal advice for kin or non-parties who participate in various types of alternative dispute resolution.
- We advocate for restorative justice solutions for clients in criminal matters who are interested in participating in the Collaborative Justice Program.