May 2026 · Founder’s Note
Why I Started Breakwater Resolution
A Toronto audit job, a few hundred nonprofit board meetings, and four years in Gander later — this is the long version of why I’m launching a dispute resolution practice.
READ THE POST →Central Newfoundland · Atlantic Canada · Virtual
Resolving disputes where
the stakes are real
Commercial mediation, conciliation, and dispute resolution — led by an accountant with 15 years in the books and 20 years in the boardroom. Most disputes have a financial record underneath them. Leslie reads it.
The Philosophy Behind the Practice
“A breakwater doesn’t fight the water. It holds, so what lies behind it can be protected.”
DISPUTE RESOLUTION. BUILT TO HOLD.
Why Breakwater Resolution
Credentialed dispute resolution, without the trip to St. John’s.
Most of Newfoundland and Labrador’s mediators and arbitrators are based on the Avalon. Breakwater Resolution isn’t. It’s based in Gander, serving Central and Western NL in person and the rest of Canada virtually.
Is This a Fit?
Situations I commonly work with
People don’t usually arrive knowing which process they need. They arrive with a problem. Below are the patterns I see most often. If yours looks like one of them, we should talk.
01 · COMMERCIAL
Partnership and shareholder disputes
Buy-out valuations, exit disagreements, capital contribution arguments, co-founder splits. The fight on the surface is usually about a number nobody wrote down.
02 · NONPROFIT
Board and governance conflict
Board disputes, executive director tensions, grant compliance disagreements, bylaw interpretation. Usually rooted in a policy that was never written or a role that was never scoped.
03 · CONTRACT
Commercial and contract disputes
Breach claims, scope disagreements, unpaid invoices, vendor relationships that have gone sideways — especially when both sides still need to work together.
04 · WORKPLACE
Workplace and operational issues
Pay disputes, role-scope conflicts, allegations involving the books or the finances. Situations where the financial record has to be part of the resolution.
Not sure if your situation is a fit? Start with a conversation.
BOOK A SUITABILITY CALLFrom the Journal
Writing from the practice
A monthly essay on dispute resolution, governance, and the places where the financial record meets the human story.
June 2026 · Coming Soon
What a suitability call actually is
Thirty minutes, no pressure, no commitment. Here’s exactly what happens on the other end of that form.