Smith & Little LLP
Resolutions with Integrity
Family Lawyers Calgary
Welcome to Smith & Little LLP
Family Lawyers Calgary
Calgary-based law firm serving busy professionals with their family law matters and civil litigation
Our Core Philosophy
Resolutions with Integrity
Our Core Mission
Informed Choice and objective decision making
We are
- compassionate
- professional
- assertive
- down-to-earth
- strategic
We will
- Listen to you
- Distill difficult concepts into plain language
- Ask tough questions
- Respond rapidly to your questions
- Prepare ourselves and represent you powerfully in court
You will
- Have a solid plan and clear agreements for moving forward
- Make informed decisions you feel confident about
- Save time, money and stress with our value-based fees
Family/Divorce Law
Family Lawyers Calgary
We prevent and resolve conflicts through communication, negotiation, and where necessary through litigation.
Family law encompasses a wide range of legal issues and we are here to eliminate the confusion and overwhelming feelings while guiding and protecting your interests before, during and at the end of a relationship.
Relationships are emotional. When emotions are involved, rational decision-making can be compromised and costly mistakes are often made. We are here to be your objective mind and help you think through difficult decisions with your head, not your heart. We don’t want your anger, hurt, passion or love clouding your judgement when important decisions regarding yourself and your children are at stake. We look out for your best interests and guide you to make informed choices and create clear plans now and for the future.
The best time to hire Smith & Little LLP for family law matters is when:
- You are moving in with a new partner
- You are getting married
- You are separating
- You are divorcing
- You want a parenting plan or need to revise an existing parenting plan
- You are negotiating spousal, partner or child support
Smith & Little LLP offers advice for the following legal matters:
- Separation and Separation Agreements
- Contested and Uncontested Divorces
- Division of Matrimonial Property
- Spousal Support
- Child Support
- Child Support and Spousal Support Arrears
- Custody and Access, Parenting Arrangements
- Mobility Applications (relocating with a child)
- Private Child Welfare Retainers
- Grandparents’ access with grandchildren
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Postnuptial Agreements
- Cohabitation Agreements
- Pension Division Orders (to divide your pension plan at source upon divorce)
Civil Litigation
Our civil litigation services focus on start-ups, small, and medium sized companies facing contentious disputes. We also serve a limited number of individuals dealing with significant legal issues in the Court of Queen’s Bench.
We take the time to understand your business and motivations and help craft a solution that makes sense for you from a business and financial perspective.
The best time to hire Smith & Little LLP for civil litigation matters is when:
- You have been served with a Court of Queen’s Bench lawsuit in excess of $50,000
- You find yourself in a stalemate in your business relationship
- You are disputing the interpretation of a clause in a contract
- You have experienced a business loss in excess of $50,000
- You are in a sizeable dispute with your mortgage company, bank or insurance company (excludes personal injury)
Smith & Little LLP offers advice for the following legal matters:
- Construction Project Disputes
- Disputes with Insurance Companies (excluding personal injury)
- Disputes with Banks
- Commercial Lease Disputes
Alberta Court of Appeal
Smith & Little LLP offers full representation before The Alberta Court of Appeal for family law and civil appeals including:
- preparation and argument of applications before The Court of Appeal
- preparation of your Appeal Record and Factum
- presentation of oral argument
Smith & Little LLP serves clients in the following locations:
- Calgary
- Okotoks
- Airdrie
- Cochrane
- Canmore
- Chestermere
- Red Deer
- Olds
- Edmonton
The Smith & Little New Client Experience
1. Call Us
Speak with our knowledgeable staff and provide background and preliminary information for our firm to ensure there are no conflicts within our office
2.Talk to Christine
Gain an understanding of our services and pricing models and learn how we can help
3. Retain Us
Make the choice to work with Smith & Little LLP as your lawyers
4. We Get to Work
We start working on getting you the resolutions you need
Contact Us
Suite 2410, 645 7th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB T2P 4G8
About Us
Our Team
Christine and Kelly are proud to work together in a true partnership and offer the benefit of two minds to all of our clients. We are strongly of the view that two minds are better that one and if a partnership is able to capitalize on the strengths of each individual partner there will be huge advantages flowing to the client. Having spent our first years as lawyers figuring out what pieces of the job we each enjoy the best, we determined that there were certain tasks we enjoyed more than others. Luckily for us our strengths are complementary and while we are able to trade off and step in for each other when required, we like to each perform the tasks we enjoy the most as often as possible.
Christine’s Education:
- B.A. University of Calgary 2005
- LL.B. University of Southampton 2011
- Admitted to the Law Society of Alberta May 21, 2014
Christine’s Professional Associations:
- Member of the Law Society of Alberta
- Member of the Family Law Section – Canadian Bar Association
- Member of the Association of Women Lawyers
- Member of the Calgary Bar Association
- Member of Board of Directors of Apollo – Friends in Sport
- Member of the Advocate’s Society
- Member of the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers – Western Chapter
Christine’s Professional Presentations:
- Presenter – Legal Education Society of Alberta – “The Business of Law” – October 18 and 25, 2017
- Co-Host – Smith & Little Seminar Series for Lawyers – 2018, 2019
- Presenter – Canadian Bar Association – Changes are Coming! How the new Family Statutes Amendment Act is changing the rules of property division for adult interdependent partners in Alberta – March 13, 2019
Christine N. (Little) Shepherd
My favourite part of the job is speaking with clients, learning their stories and hearing about their families. This allows me to work with individuals and craft unique solutions for individual families. I like to think that I am down-to-earth and approachable. I take pride in being able to translate difficult legal concepts into language that is easily understood by non-lawyers. Those who have worked with me know that I am all about trying to find a concrete and practical solution to problems faced by parties at the end of their relationship. Whether you are a client seeking assistance with a separation, a business owner having a contractual dispute or someone experiencing difficulty in administering an estate, I want to work with you to solve your matter in a way that is cost-efficient and effective.
When I am not practicing law or working in our business, I enjoy being involved in the legal community and outside of the legal community. I particularly like mentoring young lawyers who are new to Canada or those who are thinking of starting their own practices. Outside of that interest, I am trying to improve my skiing and very much enjoy trying to make new and interesting recipes in the kitchen.
Kelly Elizabeth Smith
I am our litigator. I have always spent a lot of time in Court and represent our clients in contentious litigated matters, if necessary. I regularly appear before the Provincial Court of Alberta, as well as the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. I have also enjoyed appearing before the Court of Appeal of Alberta as the academic exercise of considering complex legal issues is what I like most about my job. I have an excellent memory for detail and am known to be able to think on my feet. While I am able to recall very specific details and facts with regard to all of our cases, unfortunately I do suffer from a mild form of prosopagnosia such that I am not always able to recognize faces immediately. Please do not take offence if you are one such person and introduce yourself even if it is not for the first time.
I am fluent in French and look forward to practising it more often when I travel to France. I enjoy being active in the community and particularly being a volunteer guide leader with the Girl Guides of Canada. I also very much enjoy spending time playing board games and competing with my friends at all kinds of trivia games. When I am not at Girl Guides or competing in trivia contests, I love watching various sports and spending the day in the kitchen.
Kelly’s Education:
- B.A. (Hons.) University of Toronto (Victoria College) 2005
- J.D. University of British Columbia 2008
- LL.M. with Merit London School of Economics and Political Science 2010
- Admitted to the Law Society of Alberta February 28, 2012
Kelly’s Professional Associations:
- Member of the Law Society of Alberta
- Member of the Association of Women Lawyers
Kelly’s Professional Presentations:
- Presenter – Legal Education Society of Alberta – “The Business of Law” – October 18 and 25, 2017
- Co-Host – Smith & Little Seminar Series for Lawyers – 2018, 2019
Testimonials
Thank you for all your continued help and support. You and your firm have been wonderful to work with.
Hello Smith & Little,
I am very pleased with the way Attorney Kelly presented my position in the court today.
I hope we will make similar success in the future as to bring the matter to a peaceful end soonest.
With the best of my personal regards,
[Client]Thank you for your services.
I am very happy with how [my matter] was handled.
Dear Kelly,
I very much appreciate your letter today … I have spent a long time dealing with his demands and strong words so breaking that habit has been difficult for me. However I definitely see the value in leaving these matters in your capable hands… I have not dealt with someone like yourself and Christine before and previously have had to take control myself. Your response helps remind me that you have things in control and know what to do, and for that I am greatly appreciative.
Thank you for your understanding. I very much appreciate your professional and clear approach to my matter and trust you to make the right decisions and reach out to me as needed.
As a counsellor, I seek to give referrals to my clients that I trust to be honest, caring and affordable. Christine has always gone the extra mile to help me give legal advice, referrals and information to my clients when they are confused or misdirected. Those that I have referred to her have always been very happy with the relationship and the results. It is so important to help parents move through divorce as amicably as possible to give a better psychological outcome for children caught in the middle. Christine is not an adversarial divorce lawyer – this historically punitive mindset is very destructive for vulnerable little people looking to their parents as models of healthy communication. Instead, she does her best to help create the best outcome for every member of the family system, while keeping her services affordable with an innovative pricing system.
- Cielia Hatch
I just wanted to say thank you for your help and thorough explanation. Also, the new office is lovely and as a client is a pleasant space in which to visit.
Thank you Kelly for your email and your detailed explanations!
… the reason why I am so comfortable with you because you are fair and professional. And I am glad you didn’t rush my matter. This piece is an important piece to this whole matter.
I was previously self represented which was a HUGE mistake; as dealing with opposing counsel was an absolute nightmare. I highly recommend her if you need an amazing lawyer who is very professional, personable, intelligent, and meticulous in her work. Kelly has a genuine concern for her clients, she always keeps you updated on your case and is excellent at negotiating contracts that will work in the long term to prevent unnecessary court appearances. She has made what was a nightmare of a separation so much easier to handle. To say that I’m thankful is an understatement! Thank you so very much for everything Kelly, you are AMAZING!!!
Through-out this process, Christine has been very prompt at returning telephone calls and emails, explaining her reasoning in layman’s terms for me and guiding me. She has strove to simplify and get to the root of some very complex issues. At the same time, she has been very efficient with her time to ensure that I am getting excellent “bang” for my legal dollar. I have and I will continue to highly recommend Christine to family and friends as a lawyer that can be counted on with confidence.
My experience since having Kelly take on my family law case has been nothing short of a God send!
When Kelly accepted me as a client neither of us knew how complex and frustrating my family legal matters would become. Through every step of the process Kelly was there for me. Her knowledge and experience reassured me of hope, her timely responses and clear communication always let me know that I was not alone in the bureaucratic jungle of the legal system. She gave me good, rational advice and always with my best interests in mind. Kelly listened and understood in great detail the past and current situations involving my case. She was sympathetic considering my finances, and worked with me throughout. Every aspect of her actions expressed genuine concern for me and the outcome of my case, she fought for me when I had very little fight left. Kelly went above and beyond her duties as my legal counsel and has earned my gratitude, respect and friendship. She will be my first contact should any future need arise.
Thank you Ms. Smith for helping me through what could only be described as my waking nightmare.
I am so impressed with your work. You know me as a person and you do your best about my matter. You never disappoint me and always think about myself from my matter which is the best points and every client wants. Whenever I need your help you always give me advice so I can make my decision easily. Overall you did a great job and happy to say that you are my lawyer. Thank you so much for your help and your good work. Thank you.
You are wonderful and amazing! Thank you for all of your hard work on supporting me through this process, as I appreciate it a ton! You proved yourself to be very knowledgeable and thoughtful, as well as compassionate around my goal of achieving an amicable agreement. I never felt rushed and you took the time to make sure I understood everything that I would be signing.
I would have thought all of this would have been much easier. You were able to clean up a lot of our original understandings, and that helped me to be much more informed as to my own needs and protection. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I have appreciated your advice!
Kelly and Christine,
I want to thank you for all your hard work, research, time and honesty with this process…Again from the bottom of my heart thank you for your honesty and due diligence.
Christine Little is a very compassionate person who really took the time to listen to my needs and issues.
She was very diligent and professional in handling my matter and it was a pleasure working with her to resolve my issues.
I am humbled and grateful for the services provided by Smith & Little LLP.
Keep up the GREAT work Ladies; your services are invaluable!
I don’t have the words to say thank you for that what you did for me today.
You are very good lawyer, but I can tell you, you are an amazing person. Believe me, with my experience you are what every lawyer should be. Very honest, very hard-working, not lazy. I am very glad I put my case in your hands. I am really very happy for what you did for me today. Your presentation was awesome. Very professional and thoughtful.