Marcus Sixta | Vancouver Family Lawyer

Marcus is the founder of Crossroads Law where he practices family law and fertility law in British Columbia and Alberta. In addition, Marcus is a certified collaborative divorce lawyer and an accredited family law mediator.

Marcus has developed a reputation for successfully negotiating complex family law files. He has negotiated prenuptial agreements for business owners and professional athletes with assets of over $100 million and he has successfully settled many complex divorce and separation agreements for high net-worth clients in both British Columbia and Alberta.

Moreover, Marcus frequently represents clients in high conflict family law and divorce cases in court and in arbitration. He has successfully advocated for clients in multi week family law trials in British Columbia and Alberta. He has conducted complex trails in Provincial Court, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the B.C. Supreme Court and he has successfully appeared numerous times at the Court of Appeal. Marcus also has extensive experience representing family law clients in private arbitrations.

Before becoming a lawyer, Marcus was a social worker and he uses this experience when working through difficult divorces and separations.  He is committed to alternative dispute resolution as he believes that the court system should be avoided in most family law cases. He is a proponent of mediation and collaborative family law and is a frequent writer on these subjects. Marcus is also an accredited family law mediator and he provides mediation services to separating spouses in Alberta and British Columbia. He is also a member of Collaborative Divorce Vancouver and the Collaborative Divorce Alberta Association.

Marcus is also known for his interprovincial and international family law work. He has successfully represented clients in cases involving the application of the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. He regularly represents clients in family law disputes which involve jurisdictional conflicts between Alberta and British Columbia or between Canada and the USA. Marcus has also represented clients with family law or divorce claims involving Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, The United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Iran, India, The United Arab Emirates and Mexico. This experience has been recognized as he has provided expert opinion evidence to the High Court of London England on an international child welfare case.

Marcus founded Crossroads Law with the goal of creating an innovative family law firm that truly responds to the needs of clients. With offices in both Vancouver and Calgary, Crossroads Law has assisted clients with family law and divorce issues across British Columbia and Alberta.   Marcus believes that clients should expect great customer service from a law firm including timely responses and efficient progress on their file. He also understands that the costs of legal assistance can be a barrier for many and that is why Crossroads Law offers many flat rate services as well as unbundled family law services like legal coaching.

Marcus believes that the access to justice crisis in Canada can be addressed through alternative models of legal service delivery. This is why Crossroads Law regularly assists self-represented litigants through legal coaching which enables them to represent themselves better in court and mediation. For his business innovation in law, Marcus has been featured in articles in Canadian Lawyer Magazine and the Globe and Mail.

Marcus is a public voice for access to justice in Canada. He has written articles featured in the The Lawyers Daily on the issue of access to justice for self represented litigants and he has been a national opinion writer for CBC Opinions. Marcus is a regular blog writer and edits all the blogs for Crossroads Law and the firm won an award for best new law blog from the Clawbies.ca in 2019. In addition, Marcus has been a featured speaker on 770 CHQR Calgary to discuss family law issues in Alberta. He has also been a guest on Money Matters on the Joy T.V. network to answer questions on the financial impacts of divorce.  

Giving back to the community has always been important for Marcus. He has volunteered his time to assist abused children and youth, victims of domestic violence, and people struggling with addictions. During law school he received the Howard Tisdale Memorial Award and the Provincial Court Judges Award of Merit for his pro bono work representing clients with criminal, family law, and civil claims in Provincial Court.

Marcus has been a member of various non-profit boards and committees. He was a board member at HIV Community Link in Calgary where he was involved in shaping new bylaws for the organization. Marcus is a member of the Canadian Bar Association B.C. unbundled section executive.

Marcus has also contributed to advancing public legal education by presenting family law topics to banks, mortgage brokers, real estate professionals, women’s shelters, and for the Calgary Board of Education. He has been a supervising lawyer for Pro Bono Students Canada at the University of British Columbia, advising students developing presentations on domestic violence. He has also presented at the University of Calgary on small firm practice, family law litigation and he has been a moot court judge. He is also a contributor to the Law Society of Alberta’s Family Law Practice Manual.