In this installment of our Q&A series our Chief Operational Officer, Demi, had the pleasure of sitting down with and talking to our Operations Manager, Kelly Peters!
A joy around the office, Kelly has been with our firm since April of 2026 and gained his new role of Operations Manager in October of the same year.
Starting out as our Safety Coordinator, Kelly’s role has expanded to include partaking in the Occupational Health and Safety committee and becoming our office’s mental health officer. In these roles, Kelly puts both our employees and our clients’ well-being at the forefront.
Let’s dive in to the interview!
Interviewer: So tell me a little bit about your work history.
Kelly: My 20s, I did all sorts of jobs. I was a bartender. I did drywall. I did painting, all sorts of trade stuff. And then I went to school for correctional studies. I had aspirations of being a correctional officer, and I did so, but I realized it wasn’t really for me. I like to help people, build them up and not keep them down, and jails aren’t really a place where you build people up. So then I got a job working for Eagles Nest Youth Ranch, where I worked with at-risk and troubled kids for 14 years.
Interviewer: And then what led you to join Panko Cooperative Law?
Kelly: Well, I think it kind of fell in my lap a little bit. I was feeling like stress and being at home alone with the kids for so long. And I just kind of realized that I needed to shake things up and get back in the workforce. And then my brother-in-law and wife kind of talked me into a position. And at first I said, no, I don’t really think I’d like that. And then the week after we talked about it again and I was like, yes, please, give me something to do.
Interviewer: So what’s the best season of the year and why?
Kelly: I think easy answer is like summer because you get so much done and it’s like lake life and you’re, hanging out with the kids outside. But I think for me, it’s probably autumn. It’s comfortable to be outside. You don’t have to, you’re not sweating. I mean, you’re sweating, but not as much. And, you know, the color is changing in the leaves…
Interviewer: So what’s been your favorite part of working at Panko Collaborative Law?
Kelly: I really like, I mean, I love like conversing with all the staff, but I like my little like 5 minute talks with clients like when they come in and I get to kind of get to know them a little bit. I have a gift of gab. So I like to talk to clients quite a bit when they come in and I usually bid them farewell as they’re leaving too.
Interviewer: What is something that you have learned about family law since joining our team?
Kelly: I’ve learned that it’s very challenging. I’ve learned that it’s very, it can be very difficult for families. I’ve learned that, I mean, I already previously knew that divorce and separation was really hard on families, but I don’t really feel like I knew knew, and now I feel like I understand a lot more what our clients are going through and how they’re feeling and how stressful of a time it is for them.
Interviewer: What’s something you wish everybody knew about Panko Collaborative Law?
Kelly: I think that, and I mean, this kind of comes from a place of not really knowing a lot of other family law firms in Saskatoon, but I think that we are a very good firm. And I think that all of our lawyers and everybody working behind the scenes actually cares about people. And I can’t say the same about other family firms. I’m sure that hopefully they do. But I know that like our lawyers and our staff work really, really hard for people, and they genuinely care.
Interviewer: What’s something you thought about family law that you realized isn’t true now that you work with lawyers?
Kelly: Well, I guess like I think when I think of family law like from a perspective that I didn’t know anything about before, you kind of see it in movies and film, right? So I feel like a lot of it was like, movies that don’t really do it justice or elaborate in a negative way, like something like Mrs. Doubtfire, where he like, I know he has to dress up as a woman to see his kids, which is a really weird thing. And like, you know, gaslighting his wife into thinking that he’s like an old lady.
Interviewer: Would you rather have meatballs for hands or meatballs for eyes?
Kelly: There’s so many questions when you ask a question like that. Meatballs for hands, is it one meatball or is it like a meatball and then fingers are meatballs?
Interviewer: It’s just a meatball. Just one meatball in each hand.
Kelly: Are they saucy?
Interviewer: They’re saucy.
Kelly: Okay, what about my eyes? Can I see through them?
Interviewer: Yeah, you can see through them. They’re fully functional eyes.
Kelly: I think eyes, because like, what are you going to do with meatball hands? You can’t do anything with them. At least meatball eyes, I can look around.
Interviewer: What’s something that you’re looking forward to for our company’s future?
Kelly: For the company, I think I would like to see not necessarily expansion, but I would like to see just busyness. I would like to see more activity and more more clients coming in, more people for me to meet and greet and say hello to.
We hope you have enjoyed this spotlight on Kelly Peters. Kelly is looking forward to seeing you here! Contact our office today to book a consultation:
Give us a call! or Email us!
If you want to learn more about Kelly, make sure to visit his profile page!