Shashika Stanislaus

Shashika Stanislaus is a Senior Associate in the Family Law Group at Watson Goepel. An accomplished litigator, Shashika has appeared as lead counsel at the Provincial Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal levels in British Columbia, with his decisions often cited amongst the leading cases on particular family law issues.

Shashika’s practice spans all areas of family law, including parenting arrangements, support calculations, determinations of excluded property, division of family property and allocation of family debt. Shashika is experienced in navigating high conflict parenting disputes and complex property issues involving both domestic and international assets.

Outside his professional pursuits, Shashika enjoys playing tennis, travelling, and living vicariously through his beloved sports teams (Go Pacers).

Education

• J.D., University of British Columbia, 2015
• B.A. (Honours), Villanova University (USA), 2010

Bar

• British Columbia, 2016

Work Highlights

• JCH v SMBH, 2024 BCSC 54
  Successfully obtained both pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on retroactive child support award of $98,086 for the Respondent.
• Wood v Zaepernick, 2023 BCSC 1046
  Successfully opposed petitioners’ application to remove Certificate of Pending Litigation on former family home.
• HSA v SKA, 2022 BCSC 1492
  Lead counsel in 29 day trial addressing parenting arrangements and successfully obtained guardianship, increased parenting time and increased contact time for Claimant and Claimant’s family.
• Etemadi v Maali, 2020 BCSC 1908
  Successfully obtained interim distribution for the Respondent in the amount of $250,000, with the decision and legal analysis upheld by the Court of Appeal in Etemadi v Maali, 2021 BCCA 298.
• CM v NL, 2020 BCSC 3
  Counsel in 44 day trial and successfully exonorated  Respondent against allegations of sexual abuse of a child and excluded over $2.5 million of property from division.
• Jalalian-Ghayoumpour v Mobargha, 2018 BCSC 2497
  Successfully defended Claimant in appeal by a non-party witness of a decision to require his attendance at pre-trial examination.
• SJS v YWP, 2017 BCSC 798
  Counsel in 16 day trial addressing parenting arrangements and successfully obtained guardianship and increase in unsupervised parenting time for the Respondent.

Publications and Presentations

• Co-author and co-presenter of “Judicial Case Conferences”, Family Law Basics 2025 CLEBC course (2025)
• Co-author and co-presenter of “Cases You May Have Missed While Focusing on Other Things”, 13th Biennial Family Law Conference (2021)
• Co-author and co-presenter of “Lawful Religious Expressions in Public: A Conversational Approach to Defining Terms in Religious Studies and Legal Practice”, Religion and Law in Canada and the U.S. Conference (2019)
• Co-author of “The Entry Level System of the National Hockey League”, Chapter 5 of Legal Issues in Professional Hockey: National and International Dimensions (2016)

Professional and Community Affiliations

• Member, Vancouver Bar Association
• Member, Law Society of British Columbia
• Volunteer, Access Pro Bono Society of BC

Recognition

• William C. Gibson Citation (Green College, UBC), 2015
• UBC Law Trial Advocacy Entrance Award, 2012