Following her divorce, Toronto lawyer Leanne Townsend empowers other women

Leanne Townsend is a lawyer and life coach.

She consults her male and female clients on separation, divorce, child support, and criminal charges. 

When Leanne was 19 years old, her mother passed away.  Her parents were divorced at the time, and Leanne was left to manage the household on her own.  

Going to school, working, and raising her younger brother, she received finances from her father, but little emotional support.     

Following law school, she rose to become an Assistant Crown Attorney, specializing in domestic violence. 

She got married and had 2 children, but was in an emotionally abusive relationship, and divorced 10 years later.  

By day, Leanne was a tireless advocate for women.  By night, she was stressed, lonely and suffering from low self-esteem.  

The support that she would provide to her clients was lacking in her own life, and Leanne recognized that she was not going in a positive direction.  

She found help in professional therapy and life coaching.

“Finding the right therapist turned my life around,” she says.  “I started to believe in myself again and this made me want to help others rediscover who they are and empower themselves.”  

Being a family lawyer, Leanne is a coach by nature, and she realized that having this as a professional skill could help her clients as well. 

Many women are lost when their marriage falls apart.  Not only does she help with their divorce settlements, but she also helps in rebuilding their lives.  

Some women have been out of the workforce for many years and need guidance in designing a resume, or dating again and creating an on-line profile. 

“Once I opened my own practice, I could focus on helping women overcome the stigma associated with divorce,” she says.  

Part of her message is in telling women that it’s okay to fall, pick yourself up and rebuild.

“It’s a slow process,” she says.  “But once you see change start to happen, you feel better and stronger.”

Even with her own life, she realizes that she has grown so much from the bad.    

“Everyone is dealt cards in life,” she says.  “To fulfill your potential you have to deal with them, and believe in yourself.”


For more information, www.leannetownsend.ca

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