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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
We solve criminal law problems in Toronto
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.
Ranked among Canada’s top criminal defence firms
Daniel Brown Law LLP is repeatedly recognized as one of Canada's best criminal defence law firms — named among Canada's Top Criminal Law Boutiques by Canadian Lawyer Magazine, and ranked by Best Lawyers among the nation's leading criminal defence and appellate law firms.
We are one of only a handful of Canadian criminal defence firms honoured by The Globe and Mail as one of Canada's Best Law Firms for 2026, and we are frequent winners in the Toronto Star Readers' Choice Awards for Best Lawyer, Best Law Firm, and Best Legal Services.
"One of Canada's Best Law Firms for 2026"— The Globe and Mail
Our lawyers are equally distinguished: Daniel Brown, Mark Halfyard, and Hilary Dudding are listed in The Best Lawyers in Canada for criminal defence and in Post City Magazine's 2026 Top Lawyers, while Colleen McKeown — a Precedent Setter (2022) — together with Lindsay Board and Chloe Boubalos are recognized by Best Lawyers "Ones to Watch" (2026).
Few firms in Canada match this breadth of recognition with the courtroom experience to back it up.
We are a full service criminal law firm
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 that works.
How our criminal lawyers help
Few things are as disruptive as a criminal charge. The consequences reach your job, your family and your standing in your profession long before anyone sets foot in a courtroom, and 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 stay open. Every file is worked by the team: several lawyers reviewing disclosure and testing the defence theory. You deal with the lawyers defending your case, not assistants.
No matter how complex or straightforward your case, you can expect sharp legal advice and tenacious advocacy when it counts.
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
Explore some of the charges our lawyers regularly defend in court
Driving Offences
Assault Offences
Homicide Offences
Weapons Offences
Sexual Offences
Property Offences
Administration of Justice
Experienced criminal appeal lawyers
Daniel Brown Law is widely recognized as one of Canada's best criminal appeal law 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.
Our lawyers in the media
Canada's top news networks regularly call on our lawyers for expert 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
Latest from our lawyers
Read about the charges we defend, recent developments in criminal law, and news from the firm.
How to Defend a Fraud Over $5,000 Charge in Toronto
Facing a Fraud Over $5,000 Charge in Toronto? What You Need to Know One moment you're a professional managing clients, finances, or corporate matters — the next you're facing an allegation of fraud over $5,000. In Toronto, this charge is serious and requires expert...
Accused of Sexual Assault in Toronto? 7 Critical Defence Steps
The Moment Everything Changes Being accused of sexual assault turns your world upside down. The shock, fear, and uncertainty can be paralyzing — and in that state, instinct leads to devastating mistakes. The first hours and days after an accusation are often the most...
Refusing a Breath Sample in Toronto: 7 Surprising Truths
The Police Vehicle in Your Rearview Mirror You hear the siren. The officer approaches and says: "I'm demanding you provide a sample of your breath into an approved screening device." In that moment, you have a choice: blow or refuse. Many people think refusing is the...
Client reviews
Why clients love working with us, 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.
Get advice today
Contact Daniel Brown Law at (416) 297-7200 to discuss how we can help solve your criminal law problem.