The Honourable Madam Justice
Susanne Goodman was called to the Bar in Toronto, Ontario in 1982. She practiced primarily in the family law area as a partner with the family law firm of Epstein, Cole until her appointment to the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario in 2000.
While practicing law, Justice Goodman taught family law extensively both in the Family Law Section of the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Bar Admission Course and in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. She was the Associate Head of the Family Law Section of the Bar Admission Course from 1986 – 1996 and Head of that Section from 1996 – 2000.
Between 1995 and 2000, Justice Goodman served as a Dispute Resolution Officer in the Superior Court of Justice’s Family Law Division in Toronto. She was also involved in the development and implementation of Ontario’s first mandatory Family Information Sessions programme.
In 1998, Justice Goodman received certificates in Mediation from Harvard University, in Boston, Massachusetts, and Custody and Access Mediation from CDR Associates, in Boulder, Colorado.
Justice Goodman is the Editor and principal author of the Superior Court of Justice (Ontario) Electronic Bench Book in Family Law, which is widely used by the judiciary across Canada. She is a member of the Superior Court of Justice’s Family Rules Committee. She is an instructor in the Osgoode Hall Law School LLM Programme in Family Law. She also regularly participates in continuing education programmes in the family law area for the Ontario Bar and judiciary, as well as for Canada’s National Judicial Institute.
Between 2001 and 2004, Justice Goodman was the Local Administrative Judge while chambered at Newmarket.
In 2005, Justice Goodman received the Women’s Law Association of Ontario President’s Award for her contributions to the legal profession as a mentor and educator.
In 2008, Justice Goodman was the keynote speaker in Adelaide, Australia at each of the 13th National Family Law Conference and the Family Court of Australia’s continuing education programme for the judiciary.
