Terrance G. Sheppard

Terrance G. Sheppard

E-mail: tsheppard@boyneclarke.ca

Phone: 902.460.3401

Fax: 902.463.7500

Assistant: Kim Isner - kisner@boyneclarke.ca

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Terry is a Partner and practices in the areas of Family & Divorce Law and Criminal Law. He is also Chair of the firm’s Family Law Team and is a Member of the firm's Articling Committee. He helps families going through separation and divorce. He has represented clients in all areas of Family Law throughout the province of Nova Scotia. Terry also assists families who are trying to have children. He does so through adoptions and has developed a thorough understanding of all aspects of surrogacy.

Through his criminal law practice Terry has represented clients facing charges under the Criminal Code, Motor Vehicle Act, Environment Act and various statutes. He has experience at all levels of court, including Provincial Court, Family Court, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division), Nova Scotia Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada.

Terry is currently on the board of directors for New Start, and is a former Director of Work Bridge. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors for the Halifax Association for Community Living, and a member of the Executive, serving as Vice-President. He also volunteers with ReachAbility and is active with a number of professional activities through the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, the Canadian Bar Association and Dalhousie Law School. Most recently he was appointed as a Board member of the Adoption Appeal Board for the Province of Nova Scotia (March 2007 – March 2010).

When he is not working or volunteering, Terry enjoys writing and has published eight short stories, including one to be published in the Winter 2012 edition of FreeFall Magazine.

EDUCATION

  • 1998: LL.B., Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1993: Master of Arts - Political Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 1990: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Political Science, University of King's College, Halifax, Nova Scotia

EMPLOYMENT

  • 2006 – Present: Partner, BOYNECLARKE LLP, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
  • 2002 – 2005: Associate, BOYNECLARKE LLP, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
  • 2001: Instructor (Transportation Law), Nova Scotia Community College, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 2001: Associate, Reierson Schurman, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • 2000 – 2001: Staff Lawyer, Nova Scotia Legal Aid, Halifax & Antigonish, Nova Scotia 
  • 1999 – 2000: Associate, Blackburn English Barristers & Solicitors, Enfield, Nova Scotia
  • 1998 – 1999: Articled Clerk, Paterson Palmer Hunt Murphy Barristers & Solicitors, Truro, Nova Scotia

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES

  • Member – Parent Information Program Development Working Group
  • Trainer for the Parent Information Program at the Family Division
  • Member – Nova Scotia Barristers Society’s’ Professional Standards Committee - Family Law
  • Appointed as a Board member of the Adoption Appeal Board for the Province of Nova Scotia (March 2007 – March 2010)
  • Volunteer Facilitator – Parent Information Program, Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division)
  • Member – Self-Represented Litigants Bench & Bar Committee of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division)
  • Member – Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and Department of Justice joint committee to implement amendments to the Children and Family Services Act regarding adoptions
  • Appointed amicus curiae in Child Protection matters for the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Family Division)
  • Appointed amicus curiae in child protection matters in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal
  • Volunteer Mock Chambers Justice – Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society Bar Admissions Course
  • Volunteer Moot Justice – 2nd Year Moot Court at Dalhousie Law School
  • Volunteer Coordinator – joint project of the Dal Pro Bono Student Association and the Canadian Mental Health Association on Human Rights issues
  • Member – Canadian Bar Association (Family Law Subsection)
  • Member – Nova Scotia Barrister's Society

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

  • Board Member - New Start
  • Former Chair – Halifax Developmental Pre-school
  • Former Board of Directors – Halifax Association for Community Living and a member of the Executive, serving as Vice-President
  • Former Director – The North American Chronic Pain Association of North America
  • Director – Work Bridge
  • Volunteer Lawyer – ReachAbility
  • Former Chair – Halifax Development Pre-School
  • Former Director – North American Chronic Pain Association of Canada

UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES

  • Member of the Smith Shield Mooting Team

AWARDS

  • Leonard A. Kitz Prize for Excellence in Mooting, Dalhousie University, 1998
  • Graduate Scholarship and Teaching Assistantship, Dalhousie University, 1993
  • President's List and University of King's College Scholarship, University of King's College, 1990

PUBLICATIONS

  • BOYNECLARKE Lawletters:
    -"Child Support"
    -“Child Support: Special Circumstances”
    -“Adoptions”
  • Publication of "The Right to Strike: Liberalism and the Charter" in the Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies

PRESENTATIONS

  • Mr. Sheppard speaks regularly for the Military Family Resource Centre on the subjects of Child Support and Custody & Access.
  • Preparing and Arguing Cases Involving Contested Shared Custody (Parenting and Child Support Issues) - Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, January 2011. 
  • Tax Principles for Family Law - Academy of Financial Divorce Specialists, June 2009
  • Lecture on Surrogacy - Regina Branch of the Saskatchewan Canadian Bar Association, March 2008
  • Uncontested Divorced – NSCC, April 2008
  • Lecture on Surrogacy – Nova Scotia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, December 2007
  • Human Rights Act – Work Bridge, March 2004
  • Child Protection Proceedings – MISA, October 2002
  • Liability for Volunteer Boards of Directors – Cumberland County Historical Society, May 1998

AREAS OF PRACTICE