Colleen McKeown – Partner hear my name
Colleen McKeown – Partner
hear my name
Colleen’s practice focuses on criminal trials and appeals. She assists those charged with or convicted of all Criminal Code offences. She has argued appeals in the Ontario Court of Justice (Provincial Offences Act appeals), the Superior Court of Justice, the Federal Court of Canada, and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. She has repeatedly appeared on behalf of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association on significant criminal law appeals at the Supreme Court of Canada. She also has experience acting as counsel to a party with standing at a Coroner’s Inquest and at the Public Order Emergency Commission and previously acted as research lawyer to a committee of the Canadian Judicial Council.
In 2022, Colleen was recognized by Precedent Magazine as “one of the defence bar’s most talented appellate lawyers” when she was awarded a prestigious Precedent Setter Award for excellence and leadership in her early years of practice. In 2025, Colleen was recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Canada™ for appellate practice and criminal defence.
Colleen is also interested in legal writing and education. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law for four years, teaching a course on Legal Research & Writing for three years and supervising students participating in the Criminal Appellate Externship Program. Colleen contributed a chapter about historical sexual offences to the second and third editions of Prosecuting and Defending Sexual Offence Cases. She has also presented on criminal law and advocacy topics to students, lawyers, and judges at events hosted by organizations including the National Judicial Institute, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, the Law Society of Ontario, and Legal Aid Ontario.
Colleen first developed a passion for criminal law at the University of Oxford, where she completed a master’s degree, with distinction, in criminology and criminal justice. Colleen went on to complete her J.D., also with distinction, at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. During law school, she worked on criminal trials and appeals and prosecuted provincial offences on behalf of the Ministry of the Attorney General at the Crown Law Office – Criminal. She was also a leader at Downtown Legal Services, where she represented low-income clients in some of the most difficult circumstances of their lives.
After law school, Colleen held the prestigious position of serving as a law clerk to the judges of the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In this role, Colleen worked alongside and advised some of the most experienced and influential criminal court judges in the country and got to see firsthand how judges make decisions. Colleen’s experience at the Court of Appeal gives her a unique insight into crafting a winning appeal argument.
Colleen is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association. She joined Daniel Brown Law following her call to the Bar of Ontario.
Colleen can be reached to schedule a consultation by phone at (416) 297-7200 x104 or by email at [email protected].
