Criminal Law

Throughout my career as a lawyer, I have focused on being a courtroom lawyer. My career has been a mixture of private practice, social justice and teaching clinical litigation. In private practice, I have represented clients facing:

• driving offences (including drunk driving / DUI / impaired driving, driving over .08, prohibited driving, driving while disqualified; and driving without due care and consideration);

• property offences including theft, fraud, possession of stolen property and break and enter;

• assault (assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, and aggravated assault), robbery, sexual assault, and kidnapping.

What Happens When You Contact a Criminal Lawyer

When a client has been charged with a criminal offence, they are entitled to contact a lawyer at the first reasonable opportunity. This may be when we first talk.

While we speak, I can provide you with legal advice that pertains to your immediate situation. Following this advice or, if you have already been released, you can contact me at the office and schedule our first meeting.

To begin our relationship, you will sign a retainer. The retainer will outline the services that I will provide to you as your criminal lawyer and outline the fees at the start of our relationship so that you can begin to plan. I understand that nobody plans for the inconvenience, stress, and burdens that accompany a criminal charge. As your lawyer, I attempt to move you through the system as quickly and quietly as possible with the least amount of stress.

Following our first meeting, I attend court appearances on your behalf, where possible, and move the matter through the justice system. I review the case against you, review the evidence with you, and ensure that you know where you stand in terms of your case. I engage local services and experts where possible to promote the expedient and thorough resolution of your case, whether it be through an outright withdrawal or through extra-judicial sanctions.

However, Defending Your Innocence Often Requires Trial

Deciding to bring the matter to trial is a decision that lies in the hands of the client. The decision is a heavy decision that should be made understanding the inherent stress, time, and risks associated with trial. I rely on my experience, preparation and interviews with you to help you make this life-impacting decision.

Once we have decided to go to trial, I meet with witnesses, gather evidence, prepare legal arguments, and, in some cases, retain experts to fully advance your defence at your trial date. We discuss and determine whether or not you choose to testify and, where you do, we prepare you to take the stand.

In some cases, you may decide for a number of reasons that you wish to forfeit your trial and instead enter a guilty plea and submit yourself for sentencing. In this case, we work to prepare your case and to prepare you for the sentence. We work with your support system (friends, family, community) to accumulate evidence in support of the least restrictive sentence possible so we can use it in argument at your sentencing hearing and in resolution negotiations with the Crown. 

Thinking Ahead… To When The Case Is Behind You

Regardless of the strategy we use for your case, our actions are motivated by a client-centered approach. In criminal law, it is important to understand the things that matter most to the client and prioritize our actions based on the client’s life. This is a tailored and holistic approach: no two cases are the same.

Being charged with a criminal offence has implications outside of the criminal sanctions you face: employment, immigration, financial, social and health. These concerns will necessarily shape the decisions you make and we will work together to identify risks and focus on what is most important to you.