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Daniel Brown - Lead Trial Counsel
Daniel Brown - Lead Trial Counsel
Daniel Brown is one of Canada's leading criminal defence lawyers, defending individuals, professionals, public figures, corporations, and organizations in high-stakes criminal, regulatory, and professional discipline matters. His practice spans trials, appeals, regulatory hearings, witness representation, crisis advisory work, and complex investigations where a client’s liberty, reputation, career, and future are on the line.
After graduating from Queen’s University’s Faculty of Law, Daniel began his criminal law career more than two decades ago at Pinkofskys LLP, then Canada’s largest criminal defence firm. He later founded Daniel Brown Law in 2008, building a boutique criminal defence firm known for sophisticated advocacy, strategic judgment, and discreet representation in serious and sensitive cases.
Daniel is certified as a specialist in criminal law by the Law Society of Ontario — a designation held by fewer than 2% of criminal lawyers in the province. He runs offices near the main courthouses in downtown Toronto and York Region, representing clients facing charges ranging from domestic assault, drug possession, and impaired driving, to sexual assault, murder, fraud, and weapons offences.
Daniel has appeared at every level of court in Ontario. He has acted as trial counsel before the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice, and as appellate counsel before the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada.
His work has earned consistent recognition. Daniel has been named by Post City Magazine as one of Toronto's Top Criminal Lawyers, selected by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in Canada for Criminal Defence, and recognized through his firm’s repeated inclusion among Canada’s leading criminal law boutiques by both Canadian Lawyer Magazine and the Globe & Mail. Daniel Brown Law has also received national recognition from Best Law Firms as a Tier 1 Criminal Defence firm in Canada.
In 2024, Daniel was inducted as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only, peer-selected honorary society of 3,500 trial lawyers across North America. He is also a member of the Litigation Counsel of America’s Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute.
Daniel’s clients often include people who have never before been involved in the justice system: professionals, executives, public figures, first responders, regulated professionals, and others whose reputations, livelihoods, travel privileges, and personal lives may be permanently affected by a criminal or regulatory investigation.
A significant part of Daniel’s practice involves defending sexual offence allegations, including high-profile and media-sensitive sexual assault cases. He is the author of the bestselling legal textbook, Prosecuting and Defending Sexual Offence Cases, a leading Canadian authority cited by judges, prosecutors, and defence lawyers across the country, including by the Supreme Court of Canada.
Daniel is also a former president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, where he advocated on behalf of the criminal defence bar and contributed to public debate on criminal justice reform. In 2023, the Government of Canada appointed him to the Federal Judicial Appointment Advisory Committee for Toronto and the GTA for a three-year term. In that role, he evaluates candidates for appointment to the Superior Court of Justice, the Federal Court of Canada, and the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
He is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, The Advocates’ Society, the Toronto Lawyers Association, and the Ontario Bar Association, and serves on the Case Review Committee for Innocence Canada.
Daniel is also deeply involved in legal education. He is an Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University’s Faculty of Law, where he teaches Advanced Criminal Law and oversees the law school's Criminal Appellate Externship Program. He has mentored students through Toronto Metropolitan University’s Law Practice Program and lectured at Dalhousie University, Queen’s University, the University of Toronto, and Osgoode Hall Law School.
Beyond the courtroom, Daniel is regularly invited to speak on criminal procedure, forensic science, trial strategy, sexual offence litigation, gang culture, and criminal justice policy. He has appeared as an expert witness before both the House of Commons and the Senate and has presented at programs hosted by the judiciary, the Crown and defence bars, the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association, and The Advocates’ Society.
Daniel is frequently called on by the media for insight into criminal justice issues. He has appeared on CTV Your Morning, CBC Metro Morning, CP24, Global News, CITY TV News, and eTalk Daily, and has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, National Post, and Toronto Sun. His experience with media-sensitive cases allows him to help clients manage public scrutiny, protect the integrity of their defence, and respond strategically when allegations attract unwanted attention.
Daniel has also authored scholarly articles for legal journals and written criminal law commentary for The Toronto Star.
In addition to defending people charged with criminal offences, Daniel advises crime victims, witnesses, professionals, and individuals under police investigation before charges are laid.
Daniel primarily represents clients throughout the Greater Toronto Area, but his practice extends across Ontario. He regularly handles bail hearings, trials, appeals, and regulatory matters in Toronto, Newmarket, Oshawa, Brampton, Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Barrie, Hamilton, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Bradford, Orangeville, and surrounding communities.
To learn more about Daniel Brown Law, or to speak with Daniel directly about a criminal matter, call (416) 304-0083 or text (416) 898-2097.
