John Alousis joined Barriston Law in 2026 (along with Melissa Conte), bringing with him a wealth of experience in corporate, commercial, and real estate law. His practice also focuses on development projects and wills and estates. John has been a fixture of the Barrie legal community since 1990, establishing his own firm in 1997.

John earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School. He was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1989. His professional background includes teaching the Construction Law course accredited by the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) at Georgian College and Business Law on behalf of the Business Development Bank of Canada.

John is passionate about giving back to his community. John is a past president and former board member of the Simcoe County Home Builder’s Association. He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Barrie-Huronia since 2004, serving as a president, board member, and committee chair. He served as the chair of Victoria Village’s board of directors. He is also a co-founding member of Barrie Cares, a non-profit dedicated to ending homelessness.

John loves hiking, biking and travelling. Someday he hopes to be good enough to play golf and pickle ball without embarrassing himself.

Jodi practices in the area of family law and advises clients in matters relating to custody & access, child support, spousal support, and the division of family property. She also practices in the area of alternative dispute resolution and, as a mediator, works with clients to resolve their disputes cooperatively and outside of court.  Jodi obtained a Bachelor of Arts from McMaster University in 1998 having majored in Psychology and minored in English. She went on to attend the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law and graduated in 2002.

After completing her year of articles in Vancouver, Jodi was called to the Bar of the Law Society of British Columbia in 2003. She practiced Family Law on the west coast but made the decision to return to her roots and transferred to Ontario. She was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Ontario (LSO) in May 2004 and joined the firm shortly thereafter. Outside of work, Jodi enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outdoors (preferably near water), and losing herself in a good book.

Guy is a senior lawyer practicing primarily in the areas of real estate, wills and estates and corporate law. Guy obtained an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and studied Law at the University of Windsor where he received his LL.B. before being called to Bar in June of 2006.

Prior to joining Barriston, Guy was in private practice for over a decade and acted as the managing partner of a high volume solicitor practice in Toronto that grew to serve thousands of clients. Guy also spent several years applying his legal skills in the financial advisory department of a large multinational corporation.

When not at the office, Guy enjoys spending time exploring the outdoors and natural beauty of Simcoe County with his young family. Guy is also an avid baseball fan, and enjoys playing the game with his children and has acted as a volunteer coach for many years.

As the Culture & Operations Manager, Rebecca is involved with the management of day-to-day operations of the firm with a focus on managing the firm’s administrative policies & procedures, employee engagement, training & development, large projects and firm culture.

Prior to joining Barriston, Rebecca worked at the Fairmont in Banff Alberta, where she developed a high standard of service and experienced the importance of multiple departments working together with a common goal.

Rebecca received her Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University in 2016 with a major in Psychology. She has a special interest in project management, such as technology migrations, and in 2024 she completed a Project Management Leadership Course through Georgian College to support this passion.

Currently, Rebecca sits on the Board of Directors for Collier Place Seniors Residence.

Rebecca spends her time outside of the office cooking for family and friends, playing recreational sports, hiking with her dog and travelling as much as she can.

Katherine Chan represents and advises on a broad range of municipal, expropriation, land use planning, and development matters.

Her practice includes appearing before all levels of Ontario Courts, the Ontario Land Tribunal, and other administrative bodies.

Katherine obtained her law degrees at the University of Warwick and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Prior to relocating to Ontario, she was a barrister practicing in Hong Kong.

Katherine is fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin, and is proficient in reading and writing Chinese.

Amanda Chapman is an experienced lawyer, mediator, and workplace investigator. She had the privilege of honing her skills at a local boutique firm as a young lawyer, and then managed her own firm for over ten years before joining Barriston LLP as Counsel in 2024. Amanda has a broad legal practice which encompasses employment law, civil litigation, insurance law, estate planning, estate litigation and family law. Amanda also has experience with both civil and family appeals having had a number of appearances before the Ontario Court of Appeal.  Amanda’s practice areas allow her to advise clients in various areas and when those areas intersect Amanda has the experience needed to advise on both. Amanda obtained an Honours Bachelor of Arts from York University in 2002, Postgraduate Certificate in Dispute Resolution in 2004, and graduated from the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law in 2008.

In 2018, through The Law Foundation of Ontario, Amanda had the opportunity to develop the Summary Legal Counsel Project, of which she is also a roster lawyer. At the time, the SLC Project was a first of its kind and it offered the opportunity for unrepresented parties to retain experienced family lawyers at a highly discounted rate.  Addressing Access to Justice is such an important issue and the program expanded into Toronto in 2020. In 2021, Amanda Chapman was appointed by Order in Council as a part-time Mediator and Adjudicator with Tribunals Ontario. Amanda is a Mentor for the Family Justice Centre which mentors law students while providing advice to those in need of legal services, a member of Pro Bono Ontario, sits on the Board of Directors for Elizabeth Fry Society of Simcoe Muskoka, a member of the Toy Tea (Barrie), a member of Ripple of Kindness (Barrie) and is committed to contributing to the betterment of our community.

When Amanda is not hard at work on client matters, she is looking for her next design project, improving her fitness, being a supportive dance mom and hockey mom, or traveling to a new or favourite destination with her husband Tyler and their two children.

Alex is an associate lawyer practicing in the areas of municipal law, corporate law and wills and estates. Alex joined Barriston in 2020 as a summer student prior to completing his articling term at the firm. His time at Barriston has allowed him to assist on a variety of complex municipal, corporate and estate planning matters.

Alex completed his law degree at the Schulich School of Law (Dalhousie University) before being called to the Bar in Ontario. While in law school, Alex was involved with Pro Bono Dalhousie’s Wills Project where he assisted with the drafting and execution of wills and powers of attorney for low-asset residents of Halifax and area. Prior to obtaining his law degree, Alex studied business administration at Laurentian University.

Outside of practicing law, Alex is an active member of the Rotaract Club of Barrie. In his spare time, he enjoys playing and writing music, mountain biking, skiing, and spending time with family and friends.

Since 1962, John Cockburn devoted the majority of his practice time to corporate and commercial matters. He acted for over 300 corporations (including provincial and federal corporations, charitable organizations and foundations) involving incorporations, joint ventures and partnership arrangements, reorganizations, amalgamations, estate/corporate tax planning, negotiation and documentation of complex commercial contracts, business sales and acquisitions by way of asset sales (inevitably involving commercial realty conveyancing) and by way of share sales, and for commercial lenders in structuring financing arrangements for these types of transactions. John also practiced in the area of Real Estate (commercial and residential) and in Estate Planning and Estate Administration.

John was certified by the  Law Society of Ontario (LSO) as a Specialist in Corporate and Commercial Law in 2007.  John also maintains an extensive Residential and Commercial Real Estate practice. He practiced law in Barrie from 1962 until 2021. He is active in the community having served as Chairman of the Royal Victoria Hospital Board, board member for the Ontario Safety League, past President, and active member of the Rotary Club of Barrie-Huronia, and co-chair of the Leadership Gifts – Capital Fundraising for Hospice Simcoe.

John retired from practicing law on December 10th 2021.

In 2022, Barriston established The Barriston Fund in recognition of John Cockburn, honouring John’s lifelong commitment to supporting his community.

Afton Colliton is an Associate Lawyer practicing in the firm’s litigation department. He was called to the Bar in June 2026 after completing his articles with Barriston.

After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Law & Society at York University in 2022, Afton attended the University of Windsor Faculty of Law, graduating in 2025. During his second-year summer, he worked at Community Legal Aid, where he primarily assisted clients with Landlord and Tenant Board matters and summary criminal matters. Throughout law school, Afton remained involved in both the legal and broader community. He served as Co-President of the Mental Health and Wellness Initiative during his second and third years, helping organize events and programs that promoted student well-being. He also volunteered with Community Legal Aid during the academic year and served as a high school tutor through the United Way of Windsor Essex’s On Track to Success program.

Having grown up in Muskoka, Afton is happy to return to the area. Outside of the office, he enjoys the outdoors, staying active, and spending time with friends and family.

Melissa Conte is a Senior Associate at Barriston Law practicing in the areas of Residential Real Estate & Mortgages, Commercial Real Estate & Financing, Business & Corporate Law, and Wills & Estates.

Melissa joined Barriston in 2026 after practicing at Alousis Law Professional Corporation since her call to the Bar in 2015. She has practiced as a solicitor since that time, developing extensive experience in real estate, mortgages and loans, wills and estates, and corporate and business law. Her practice also includes land development matters such as severances and land titles applications.

Melissa earned an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto in 2011. She then attended the University of Windsor, where she received her Juris Doctor in 2014.

Outside of her legal practice, Melissa is an active member of the local community. She currently serves as a board member for Empower Simcoe.