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Toronto criminal lawyers · Trials & appeals
Quietly if we can.Relentlessly if we must.
Serious allegations threaten more than your freedom. We protect your career, your reputation and your future with strategic, discreet, and determined criminal defence.
- The Globe and MailCanada’s Best Law Firms
- Canadian Lawyer MagazineTop 10 Criminal Law Boutiques
- Best LawyersBest Lawyers in Canada
- Best Law FirmsCriminal Defence — Canada
- Toronto Star — Readers’ ChoiceBest Law Firm
- Post City MagazineTop Criminal Lawyers
Charged or under investigation in Toronto? Talk to a criminal lawyer
Daniel Brown Law is a Toronto criminal defence firm that defends sexual assault, impaired driving, fraud, drug, assault, weapons, and domestic violence charges across Ontario. We represent clients at bail hearings, trials, and appeals. If you have been charged, arrested, or contacted by police, your first call should be to a lawyer for advice before you say anything.
Daniel Brown Law is ranked by The Globe and Mail, Canadian Lawyer and Best Lawyers among Canada's leading criminal defence firms.
What a criminal charge puts at risk
A criminal charge reaches your job, your family and your standing in your profession long before anyone sets foot in a courtroom. Depending on the charge, it can affect a professional licence, a security clearance, your ability to cross the border, or your immigration status. Many of our clients are professionals who have never dealt with the criminal system before.
If you are facing criminal charges, choosing the right defence lawyer is one of the most important decisions you will ever make.
At Daniel Brown Law, our goal is simple: resolve your legal matter quickly, discreetly, and effectively.
We get involved early, from the first sign of an investigation through to trial or appeal, because the sooner we act the more options we have to solve your case.
Behind every file is a team of lawyers managing disclosure, preparation, and client communication so nothing is missed. When you retain the firm, you gain the combined experience of the whole group, not one lawyer working alone: the strategy, resources, and responsiveness that serious charges demand.
No matter how complex or straightforward your case, you can expect sharp legal advice and tenacious advocacy when it counts.
Every stage, every level of court
For more than 20 years, our Toronto criminal defence lawyers have handled thousands of trials and appeals. Daniel Brown and his legal team defend clients at every level of court — from the Ontario Court of Justice through the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. We know the prosecutors, we know the judges, and we know how to build a defence around the weaknesses in the Crown's case.
Before Charges Are Laid
We negotiate with police to stop charges before they are laid, interview witnesses and gather evidence while an investigation is still open. Our best work often happens before a case reaches a courtroom.
In the Courtroom
We challenge the evidence, cross-examine the witnesses and hold the Crown to its burden — at trial and on appeal, at every level of court in Ontario.
Reputation & Crisis
We advise professionals and businesses facing media attention and public scrutiny. Our best results are the clients who stay out of the headlines.
Charges we defend in Ontario
Find the charge you’re facing. Type it, or the section number on your paperwork.
Criminal charges, A to Z
- s. 266Assaultaggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon
- s. 515Bail hearingsbail review, detention review, show cause hearing, Myers review
- s. 679Bail pending appealappeal bail
- Coercive controlcontrolling or threatening conduct
- s. 264Criminal harassmentharassment, stalking, repeated communications
- s. 320.13Dangerous drivingdangerous driving causing death, reckless driving
- s. 162.1Distributing an intimate imagepublishing an intimate image, revenge porn, sharing nudes
- s. 266Domestic assaultintimate partner violence, family violence, spousal assault
- CDSA 4Drug possessionsimple possession
- CDSA 5Drug traffickingpossession for the purpose of trafficking, drug dealing
- s. 145Fail to appear at courtmissing court, bench warrant
- s. 145Fail to comply with bailbreach of bail, breaking conditions, breach of undertaking
- s. 320.16Failing to remain at the scenefail to stop, hit and run, leaving the scene
- s. 91–95Firearm and weapon possessiongun charges, carrying a concealed weapon, weapons trafficking
- s. 279Forcible confinementunlawful confinement
- s. 380Fraudpossessing stolen property, false pretences
- s. 320.14Impaired drivingDUI, driving over 80, drinking and driving, drunk driving, care and control
- CDSA 6Importing drugs
- s. 430Mischiefvandalism, damage to property
- s. 229–236Murder and manslaughterhomicide, criminal negligence causing death, first degree, second degree
- s. 129Obstruct policeresisting arrest
- s. 810Peace bonds810 recognizance, court orders
- s. 140Public mischieffalse report to police
- s. 320.15Refusing a breath samplerefusing the breathalyzer, refusing a roadside test
- s. 343Robberymugging, armed robbery
- s. 271Sexual assaultgang sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual assault causing bodily harm
- s. 153Sexual exploitationbreach of trust
- s. 334Theft and shopliftingshoplifting, theft under 5000, credit card possession, stolen property
- s. 264.1Uttering threatsdeath threats, threatening
- s. 162Voyeurismrecording without consent
No charge here matches that.
That does not mean we can’t help — call 416-297-7200.Charged with something you can’t see here?
All practice areas Call 416-297-7200
Experienced criminal appeal lawyers
Daniel Brown Law is ranked by Best Lawyers among Canada's leading criminal appeal firms. Our appellate practice covers both criminal and administrative appeals across Ontario.
Our legal team includes former judicial appeal clerks who know firsthand what judges look for, as well as seasoned criminal appeal lawyers recognized in Best Lawyers in Canada for Criminal Appellate Law and Criminal Defence.
We have argued some of Canada's most significant and precedent-setting criminal appeals at the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada.
Learn more about criminal law appeals, including how to apply for appeal bail, defend against a Crown-initiated appeal, or challenge a conviction under the Provincial Offences Act.
Ranked among Canada’s top criminal defence firms
Daniel Brown Law is an award-winning criminal defence firm, widely recognized for excellence by the legal profession and by our clients.
Firm rankings
- The Globe and Mail. One of Canada's Best Law Firms for 2026, an honour held by only a handful of Canadian criminal defence firms.
- Canadian Lawyer Magazine. Named among Canada's Top Criminal Law Boutiques.
- Best Lawyers. Ranked among the nation's leading criminal defence and appellate law firms.
- Toronto Star Readers' Choice. Frequent winner for Best Lawyer, Best Law Firm, and Best Legal Services.
"One of Canada's Best Law Firms for 2026"— The Globe and Mail
Lawyers recognized individually
- The Best Lawyers in Canada, criminal defence. Daniel Brown, Mark Halfyard and Hilary Dudding, who are also listed in Post City Magazine's 2026 Top Lawyers.
- Precedent Setter Award, 2022. Colleen McKeown.
- Best Lawyers Ones to Watch, 2026. Colleen McKeown, Lindsay Board and Chloe Boubalos.
Our lawyers in the media
Canada's top news networks regularly call on our lawyers for legal commentary on criminal cases making headlines.
Lindsay Board
CBC News
Daniel Brown
CTV Canada AM
Trevin David
CTV Your Morning
Colleen McKeown
CTV News
James Bray
Global News
Jason Dos Santos
CBC News
As seen in
- Toronto Star
- The Globe and Mail
- National Post
- CBC News
- CTV News
- Global News
- Toronto Sun
- CityNews Toronto
- CP24
- Law Times
- Canadian Lawyer
- Maclean's
- Reuters
- The New York Times
- BBC News
- The Guardian
- USA Today
Client reviews
What clients say, in their own words.
The best choice for experience and reliability, Daniel Brown and his team put in work to not just fight, but to win cases.
Daniel Brown Law is honestly the only choice of lawyer anybody should go with if you happen to get into legal issues. His whole team is so professional and knowledgeable and takes time to explain the entire process.
I would highly recommend the professional and talented lawyers at this firm. The lawyers all worked as a cohesive team to ensure that I had the best possible defence.
Questions we are asked first
Should I talk to the police if they want a statement?
Not before you get legal advice. You are not required to give the police a statement, and what you say can be used against you. Tell the officer you want to speak to a lawyer, then call one. This holds whether you have been arrested or simply asked to come in for an interview.
Can a charge be resolved without a criminal record?
Sometimes. Depending on the charge, your record, and the strength of the Crown's case, a matter can end in a withdrawal, a peace bond, diversion, or a discharge. A discharge is a finding of guilt without a conviction being registered, so it does not create a criminal record. Which of these is realistic depends on the facts, and it is one of the first things we assess.
What happens at a bail hearing in Ontario?
If you are held after arrest, your bail hearing usually takes place within 24 hours. The court decides whether you are released while the case goes ahead and on what conditions, often with a surety who agrees to supervise you. Arriving with a release plan already prepared makes a real difference to the outcome.
Will a charge show up on a background check?
An outstanding charge will appear while the case is ongoing. Once a case ends without a conviction, Ontario's Police Record Checks Reform Act limits what most checks can disclose, though a vulnerable sector check can still reveal more. How a case is resolved affects what an employer eventually sees.
Latest from our lawyers
Read about the charges we defend, recent developments in criminal law, and news from the firm.
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Accused of Sexual Assault in Toronto? 7 Critical Defence Steps
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Refusing a Breath Sample in Toronto: 7 Surprising Truths
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Get advice today
Call Daniel Brown Law at (416) 297-7200. The line is answered 24 hours a day. If you have been charged, arrested, or contacted by police, getting advice early gives us more room to act.