After graduating from Carleton University (B.A., 1970) and Osgoode Hall Law School (LLB, 1973) Hunter was called to the Ontario Bar in 1975 and co-founded the firm of MacKinnon & Phillips. His practice has been restricted to family law since 1978. In 1990, when the Law Society of Upper Canada began to certify lawyers as specialists with recognized abilities in different areas of the practice of law, Hunter was one of the first lawyers in Ontario to be certified as a specialist in family law, a designation which he has maintained since then. Hunter was Senior Instructor in Family Law at the Bar Admission Course in Ottawa for 13 years. He frequently presents papers on family law issues at programs organized by the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Advocates Society, Osgoode Hall Law School and the Carleton County Law Association and is often a guest lecturer on family law topics at the University of Ottawa Law School. He has been a member of the organizing committee of the CCLA’s Family Law Institute for 21 years. In addition, Hunter is often retained by other family law lawyers as an arbitrator or to provide his opinion on the settlement of their cases, either in the form of private settlement conferences or consultations. MacKinnon & Phillips is an Ottawa family law boutique, consisting of seven lawyers all of whom restrict their practices of family law.