The Law Garage

Season 2 Trailer

September 24th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  2 mins 48 secs

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Building a Practice and Dealing with the Media with Daniel Brown

March 3rd, 2021  |  Season 1  |  41 mins 22 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

Daniel highlights, “…one of the things you have to realize is you don’t get to control the media and that no matter how much or how thoughtful you are in saying the things that you’re saying, the journalist may choose to use all, some, none or take something potentially out of context. That’s the risk that you take when you’re speaking to the media.”

Daniel Brown is among an elite group of defence lawyers certified as a criminal law specialist by the Law Society of Ontario, the governing body of Ontario lawyers. This certification guarantees that the recipient is, “recognized and experienced in his or her field of law and who has met high standards”. Much of Daniel’s legal practice is focused on representing people who are strangers to the justice system. He quite often represents successful professionals who have found themselves in unfortunate and unfamiliar circumstances. Listen in to learn more on how to build a practice and deal with the media.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Ethics and LSO’s Practice Management Helpline with Phil Brown

February 24th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  34 mins 47 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

Phil gives us advice on solicitor-client confidentiality when using the different types of client-management software available: “You need to look at their terms of service and their privacy policy because it is important to know where your information is stored. It is something you might consider adding to your retainer agreement. I know if you’re doing a security certificate case for instance, quite likely your client isn’t going to want their information stored in a server in the US.…The important part is know what the tool is that you are using, know where the information is.”

Phil Brown attended Dalhousie University and practiced criminal law as a sole practitioner. He has been counsel with the Practice Management Helpline for 12 years and has developed a series of technology podcasts with David Whelan. Phil has been a frequent speaker on ethics and professionalism topics and has a particular interest in the intersection of technology and its impact on the future practice of law. Listen in to learn about Ethics and LSO’s Practice Management Helpline.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Ethical Lawyering and Dealing with the Law Society with Nadia Liva

February 24th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  37 mins 52 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

“I think if you practice with [this] at heart: The desire to not be so reckless, the desire to be careful, to reach out and to not be afraid of not knowing the answer to something, not being so prideful that you don’t want to ask. I think you end up getting a much better practice, you give better service, and I think your reputation only improves because of it.”

Nadia Liva is committed to providing her clients with trusted counsel and skilled representation. A lawyer with over 25 years of experience in criminal, regulatory and administrative law, Nadia’s practice is quality driven and is focused on achieving the best results for her clients. Nadia’s negotiation skills and creativity result in resolutions which maximize benefits and minimize damage to her clients, not only personally and professionally, but financially as well, avoiding the high costs associated with costly drawn out litigation. Nadia provides experienced legal advice, sound judgment, superior strategic representation and skilled advocacy with the highest level of commitment to her clients. Listen in to learn more about Ethical Lawyering and Dealing with the Law Society.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Building a Reputation and Relationship with Your Client with Elham Jamshidi

February 17th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 54 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

“The best way that I view myself is I’m the shield for my client. I’m their shield of protection, I’m their shield of armour. I want to protect them and defend them to the best of my ability…. If your lawyer doesn’t like you, how are you going to have your lawyer convince the judge to like you or the jury to like you? That’s why it is very important that you get along with your client, build that relationship with your client and like your client.”

Elham Jamshidi is an experienced litigation attorney with an expertise in criminal law. She has appeared in hundreds of criminal matters as an advocate, including several reported cases. Her cases have included clients accused of murder, sexual assault, robbery, guns and gangs, fraud, and drug offences. In every case, Elham believes in a well-prepared and aggressive defence of the rights of the accused person. Listen in to learn about Elham’s practice when working to build a relationship with her client and her journey in building her reputation.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Bail Hearings with Cat Mercer

February 10th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  40 mins 2 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

“My main advice to sureties is to always be honest because things that they think make them sound less credible make them sound more credible….The JP will know if you’re trying to make yourself sound like…you’ve never done anything wrong in the entire history of your life. But if you say, “20 years ago I had a bunch of criminal record stuff but I cleaned up my act” – that is really good for their credibility.”

Cat Mercer is a sole practitioner, practicing in the Greater Toronto Area. Her firm is called Mercury defence law. You can reach her at 647-812-7218. Listen to Cat speak about bail hearings and her experience carrying out bail hearings of her own as a new lawyer.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Building a Relationship with Your Client with Rudi Covre

February 10th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  28 mins 15 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

“You have to be transparent. Again, it goes back to setting realistic expectations with your client. You certainly don’t want to give them any false hope, but then again you don’t want to put them in a position where they are feeling so down-trodden and depressed over what’s going on that they lose hope. You need to strike that balance there as well but there has to be transparency….I use the analogy of a doctor with my clients on many occasions because for example, doctors can’t always give a patient good news. If they have a certain ailment…they have to be told. The same analogy applies to clients when they come in.”

Rudi Covre has conducted hundreds of trials at both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice. A relentless advocate who approaches every case with a “leave no stone unturned” attitude, Rudi Covre has garnered a reputation as a fierce advocate who strives for victory in each case he defends. Listen in to learn more about Rudi’s insight on how he builds a relationship with his clients.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Disclosure and Trial Preparation with Stephen Bernstein

February 3rd, 2021  |  Season 1  |  47 mins 35 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

“How do we allow our clients access to their disclosure? After all, it’s their case and they will give us instructions based on the disclosure. We, as lawyers, in looking at disclosure come up with our strategy, what the issues are. Our clients may not agree with it, but our clients have a right to at least know the case against them. It’s very important that we don’t cut them out because too many people forget that the most important person in any prosecution is the client.”

Stephen Bernstein is the senior partner at Bernstein Newman and Associates. He has been committed to defending individuals charged with criminal offences for over 20 years. Stephen is well-known for bringing compassion, passion, and excellent tactical skills to every case. Stephen takes pride in vigorously defending any case, big or small. He has experience with all types of criminal charges including, but not limited to assaults, drug offences, robberies and murders. Learn more about Stephen’s practice with Disclosure and Trial Preparation.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Appeals with Erin Dann

January 27th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  40 mins 7 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

“Anything you can do to be helpful to the judge is good advocacy. You want to make their job’s as easy as they can be to accept your argument. If they have to do extra work to get to your side, that’s not great advocacy.”

Erin Dann practices at both the trial and appellate levels with Embry Dann LLP. Erin is a member of the Pro Bono Inmate Appeal Program, a co-ordinator for the Supreme Court Advocacy Institute and a member of the Queen’s Law Moot Advisory Council. She is a regular speaker at continuing legal education seminars and an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University. Learn about appeals from Erin Dann and her journey to becoming an appeal lawyer.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper

Sentencing with Marco Sciarra

January 20th, 2021  |  Season 1  |  49 mins 30 secs

appeal, appeals, canada, canadian law, case, court, crime, criminal, criminal defence, crown, defence, evidence, jury, jury trial, law, law school, lawyer, murder, police, project, prosecutor, stand, supreme court, toronto, trial, true crime, witness

“You’re going to ask for the best possible outcome that you think you can get for your client. And if that outcome is available to you, supported by the case law and by the materials that you’ve provided, then you advocate for it - you are not going outside the scope of the law when you’re doing that.”

Marco Sciarra is a criminal defence lawyer with a particular interest in defending serious violent offences. Learn more about his practice of learning about his clients and how he prepares for sentencing submissions.

Produced by: Zenia Sethna and Jason Cooper