Lawyer Profile

Biography

Designated as a Certified Specialist in criminal law by the Law Society of Ontario, Richard Stern has been representing individuals facing a wide variety of criminal prosecutions since he began his practice in 1980. These include jury trials in the Superior Court of Justice, judge alone trials, and appellate proceedings in Summary Conviction Appeals Court, the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada. Often the cases he has taken on are serious and complex, involving allegations of domestic violence, fraudulent transactions, sexual misconduct, drug trafficking, vehicular homicides or criminal conspiracies. He has taught substantive criminal law and criminal procedure for the Law Society, including more than 20 years as an instructor in the Bar Admission Course, and he has both designed and chaired many educational programs on topics of interest to criminal law practitioners for The Advocate's Society, Legal Aid Ontario and Osgoode Hall Law School's Professional Development Program. Mr. Stern has worked extensively with Legal Aid Ontario, as a member of the Toronto Area Committee and as a member of the Exceptions Committee (assisting in the determination of budgets for cases subject to Big Case Management), drawing on his considerable experience in defending lengthy and serious criminal proceedings.