Can costs be awarded against a lawyer personally for how they conducted a family case?

Yes, though this is uncommon and reserved for serious situations. Ontario courts have the power to order costs against a lawyer personally, rather than their client, where the lawyer's own conduct of the case — not simply an unsuccessful legal argument or a losing position — caused unnecessary costs, such as through serious procedural misconduct, a clear abuse of the court process, or actions that go well beyond ordinary advocacy, even if the client instructed the lawyer to proceed that way.

Courts are generally cautious about making this kind of order, since it's meant to address genuinely improper conduct by the lawyer rather than to penalize aggressive or ultimately unsuccessful advocacy on a client's behalf, and a lawyer facing such a request would typically get a specific opportunity to respond before any order is made against them personally. This is a distinct and separate remedy from a costs order against the client themselves, and the two can potentially arise from the same set of events depending on who is actually responsible for the problematic conduct. Anyone concerned about a lawyer's conduct in their case should raise it with the court or seek independent advice.