McConnan Bion O'Connor & Peterson Law Corporation

McConnan Bion O'Connor & Peterson Law Corporation We are a full-service law firm providing legal services in Victoria, British Columbia.

Our firm was founded over 40 years ago in 1975 by David Lisson, Bruce McConnan, and Patrick Bion. Michael O’Connor and Alan Peterson joined in 1976 and the firm began as Lisson McConnan Bion O’Connor & Peterson. Upon the departure of David Lisson in 1981 the firm became known as McConnan Bion O’Connor & Peterson. In 1981, the firm’s offices were located across from the Victoria Court House at 837

Burdett Avenue occupying half of the top floor and eventually expanding to occupy the entire top floor. In 1987, we outgrew those premises and moved to our present location at suite #420-880 Douglas Street. For the first eight years of our existence, we kept a branch office in Ganges on Salt Spring Island. We closed the office in the early 80s when several full-time lawyers became resident on the island. However, we still maintain strong ties with many clients on the Gulf Islands. As McConnan Bion O’Connor & Peterson continues to move forward, we provide a wide range of legal services to residents in Victoria and all over southern Vancouver Island, consistently maintaining the high standard of service to our clients that we strived to achieve from the outset. As one of Victoria’s leading law firms, we are very proud of the service we have provided to our clients over the past 40 years and are enthusiastic about the services that we will provide in the future.

Being served with family court documents is rarely as dramatic as it looks on television, but it can be every bit as str...
08/20/2026

Being served with family court documents is rarely as dramatic as it looks on television, but it can be every bit as stressful. What you need to do next depends on the form you received.

FORM F3: NOTICE OF FAMILY CLAIM
A Form F3 starts a family law case in the B.C. Supreme Court. It may involve parenting arrangements, child or spousal support, property division or divorce.

You generally have 30 days after being served to file and serve a Form F4 response. If you want to make your own claim against the other party, you will also need to file a Form F5 counterclaim.

If the case involves support, property or debt, you may need to provide a Form F8 financial statement. Your filed documents must then be served on the other party.

FORM F31: NOTICE OF APPLICATION
A Form F31 asks the court to make an order within an existing case. It may seek temporary child support, financial disclosure, or the enforcement or variation of an existing order or filed agreement.

The form will tell you what orders the other party wants and when the application will be heard.

In most cases, you have five business days after being served to file and serve a Form F32 application response and any supporting affidavits.

You generally have 14 business days if the application asks the court to change, suspend or end a final order, or to set aside or replace a filed agreement. Different timelines may apply in some proceedings.

A Form F30 affidavit allows you to respond to the evidence and attach supporting documents. If financial issues are involved, you may also need a Form F8 financial statement.

The form numbers matter, but the deadlines matter more.

If you have been served with family court documents, read them carefully and get legal advice promptly.

NDAs were designed to protect confidential information.A new B.C. report says they are also being used to silence worker...
08/18/2026

NDAs were designed to protect confidential information.

A new B.C. report says they are also being used to silence workers.

The Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) examined how non-disclosure agreements are used in workplace cases involving sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based violence.

Its conclusion? Unrestricted NDAs can prevent people from reporting misconduct, discussing their experiences and warning others. They may also create further barriers to employment and leadership for women and gender-diverse people.

The issue gained widespread attention during the movement, when NDAs were found to have concealed allegations of workplace misconduct involving powerful individuals and institutions.

But the concern is not limited to Hollywood.

B.C. violinist Esther Hwang has spoken publicly about her experience of being bound by an NDA after raising a sexual assault complaint involving a former Vancouver Symphony Orchestra colleague. Her case is among those cited in the broader push for reform.

CLAS is now calling on the B.C. government to ban, significantly limit or regulate NDAs in cases involving gender-based violence.

At a minimum, the organization says an NDA should not be enforceable if someone was pressured, coerced or misled into signing it. It should also never prevent a person from reporting gender-based violence to police, a regulator or another appropriate authority.

This is the distinction that matters: confidentiality can serve a legitimate purpose, but it should not be used to conceal misconduct or to prevent lawful reporting.

If you are asked to sign an NDA, take time to understand exactly what it restricts, how long it applies and which disclosures remain permitted. Independent legal advice before signing can help protect your rights and prevent consequences that may be difficult to undo.

08/12/2026

Separation changes the relationship. It doesn’t end the responsibility.

Before making decisions about parenting, know what the law actually says — and what it doesn’t.

A judge has rejected competing bids to rewrite a former Nelson couple’s spousal support arrangement, leaving the central...
08/06/2026

A judge has rejected competing bids to rewrite a former Nelson couple’s spousal support arrangement, leaving the central terms of their 12-year-old separation agreement intact.

The former spouses separated in 2014 after an 18-year marriage. Under their agreement, the husband was to pay the wife $1,000 per week until October 2027, with an option to review support after five years.

Their circumstances changed considerably after the agreement was signed.

The husband suffered serious injuries in a car accident and was unable to work for 12 months. In 2021, he sold his dental practice for substantially more than his former spouse had expected. Both parties also entered new relationships.

They later brought competing claims over support.

The wife sought a higher weekly amount for an indefinite period. She alleged that the dental practice had been undervalued during the couple's property division and argued that the resulting unfairness could be addressed with increased support.

The husband asked the court to terminate support retroactively to June 2021, when he first requested a review. He cited his accident-related disability and investment losses, arguing that he and his new partner had fewer financial resources than his former wife and her new spouse.

The judge granted neither request.

After comparing the parties’ current circumstances, the court found that their respective households were in remarkably similar financial positions. It also concluded that the wife remained entitled to spousal support.

The judge found that the “fairest order” was to maintain payments of $1,000 per week until the October 2027 end date set out in the separation agreement.

The resulting total, the judge noted, would be close to the amount calculated using the parties’ actual incomes under the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines while still respecting their original agreement.

The decision shows that a review clause does not guarantee a different outcome. A court may examine what has changed and still conclude that the arrangement the parties negotiated remains fair.

07/30/2026

In family law, parenting arrangements aren't built around what parents want. They're built around what children need.

That means every decision — where they live, who they spend time with, how they're cared for — comes back to one question: What's in their best interests?

Health, safety, stability and well-being. That's the standard.

She didn’t know she was being financially abused.A recent Chatelaine feature tells the story of an Edmonton woman who sp...
07/22/2026

She didn’t know she was being financially abused.

A recent Chatelaine feature tells the story of an Edmonton woman who spent years handing over every paycheque to her husband, believing she had no choice. When he eventually fled the country, he left her responsible for mounting credit card and mortgage debt.

She isn’t alone.

Research from Edmonton’s MacEwan University found that 36% of adults surveyed had experienced some form of economic abuse by an intimate partner.

Economic abuse can take many forms, including controlling a partner’s income, restricting access to money, forcing someone into debt or using finances to limit their independence.

Experts interviewed by Chatelaine say many victims never recognize what is happening because they feel trapped in the relationship or have come to believe the behaviour is normal.

While Canada has programs to help victims of human trafficking address fraudulent debt, there is currently no equivalent program for survivors of intimate partner financial abuse.

The woman featured in the story has since founded a non-profit organization to improve financial literacy for survivors and is advocating for stronger protections at the federal level.

If you believe you may be experiencing financial abuse, you don’t have to navigate it alone. An experienced family lawyer can help you understand your legal rights, explore your options and protect your financial future.

Many parents assume that shared parenting is automatic after separation. It isn’t.Instead, every parenting arrangement i...
07/15/2026

Many parents assume that shared parenting is automatic after separation. It isn’t.

Instead, every parenting arrangement is decided based on one guiding principle: the best interests of the child.

When making that decision, courts consider a range of factors, including:

🔸 The child’s health and emotional well-being
🔸 The child’s views, where appropriate
🔸 The child’s relationships with parents and other important people
🔸 The child’s need for stability
🔸 Each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs
🔸 Any history of family violence

Shared parenting can also affect child support.

In British Columbia, a different child support calculation generally applies when each parent cares for a child at least 40% of the time. Rather than using the standard table amount, the law typically requires an offset calculation based on each parent’s income.

Even when a parenting arrangement works well initially, life changes. New jobs, moves, school schedules and family commitments can all create new challenges.

When parents can communicate, flexibility often helps keep arrangements on track. Where conflict makes that difficult, mediation or collaborative family law can often resolve disputes without the time, expense and stress of going to court.

Every family’s circumstances are different. An experienced family lawyer can help you understand your rights, develop a parenting arrangement that reflects your child’s best interests and help you navigate disputes if they arise.

07/10/2026

A cohabitation agreement isn't about planning for the worst. It's about knowing where you both stand.

Here are 6 things couples should know before signing — or skipping — a cohabitation agreement.

📍 McBOP Lawyers | Victoria, BC

🔗 Link in bio to book a consultation

A return-to-office order ended up costing an employer 19 months’ pay.A recent B.C. Court of Appeal decision highlights h...
07/07/2026

A return-to-office order ended up costing an employer 19 months’ pay.

A recent B.C. Court of Appeal decision highlights how remote work arrangements can become legally significant over time.

According to the ruling, a Vancouver real estate firm’s director of marketing had worked there for about 15 years when she began working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the rest of the firm’s employees returned to the office in June 2020, she continued working remotely due to health concerns involving one of her children. In March 2023, she resumed full-time hours.

Just two months later, she left her job following a dispute over her pay increase and the employer’s direction that she return to the office.

At trial, the judge concluded that the ability to work from home had become an essential term of her employment contract and awarded damages based on a 19-month reasonable notice period.

The employer appealed, arguing that the parties’ oral agreement did not permit permanent remote work.

The Court of Appeal disagreed, finding no error in the trial judge’s reasoning and confirming that, in the circumstances, the work-from-home arrangement had become a fundamental term of the employee’s employment.

Has your workplace changed its approach to remote work over the past few years? We’d love to hear about your experience.

Canada Day is almost here.Whether you're spending the day on the water, on a trail or just outside with good company, we...
06/30/2026

Canada Day is almost here.

Whether you're spending the day on the water, on a trail or just outside with good company, we hope you have a chance to soak up all the goodness that makes our country such a wonderful place to call home.

Happy Canada Day from our team at McBOP. 🇨🇦

Address

Suite # 420 – 880 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC
V8W2B7

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+12503851383

Website

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