Maria M. mitousiS, principal

Called to the Bar in 2006

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email Maria
Phone (direct): 204.992.9900

Legal Assistant: Janus Kang
Email Janus

For Maria, each day as a family lawyer provides the opportunity to make a difference and to connect with people as they face challenging times. She understands how daunting these obstacles can be and knows the road can be made easier with support and sound counsel.

That is why Maria strives to bring to her clients a compassionate ear, a positive outlook and problem-solving advice. With skills developed over a 16 year career in family law, Maria guides her clients whether by the collaborative model, by negotiated settlement, or using court processes.

She has been recognized as a leader in family law by her peers as one of The Best Lawyers™ in Canada in 2023 in the field of Family Law. In 2021, MLH was selected as one of Canada’s top family law firms by the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business.

Maria believes it is important to give back to the legal community: she has volunteered with both the Legal Help Centre and the Fort Garry Women's Resource Centre, acts as a mentor to law students, is an elected member of Council for the Manitoba Bar Association and sits on the executive committee of the MBA's Family Law Section and is the Manitoba Representative on the Canadian Bar Association’s Wellbeing Subcommittee. Maria is the co-instructor of the Advanced Family Law Course at the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba. She is a past instructor with the Continuing Professional Legal Education Program.

Supporting the legal profession by raising awareness of wellness and mental health issues is important to Maria. Having spoken on these issues over the years at various national conferences including the National Family Law Program, she has been recognized for her work by the legal profession and the public including the 2020 Manitoba Bar Association Community Involvement Award, the 2015 Manitoba Bar Association President’s Award of Excellence, and the 2020 Women in Law Leadership Stronger Together Award. She is proud of her work as a founding co-chair of Law(yer) Strong, establishing Manitoba’s new peer support program for lawyers.

A supporter of Winnipeg's many non-profit groups, Maria is a director on the boards of Manitoba Opera and the Mamingwey Burn Survivor Society and Nature Manitoba. 

In her free time, Maria enjoys hiking, golfing, running, and taking walks with Rory, the retired racing greyhound, who loves visiting his friends at the office.