Life in criminal law  

Brian Eberdt ’01, principal and founder at BE Defended; law degree from University of Victoria

I saw a law degree as a tool with which to make a difference in the world. I found the process of applying to and getting through law school challenging. UCC prepared me to do hard things and juggle many things at once. Separately, UCC fostered critical thinking and reasoning. The process of applying law to facts and trying to persuade a judge and jury of that application requires a lot of effort and thought. 

At the College, I was into theatre. Theatre helped me to think about the volume and modulation of my voice, my posture, and to be conscious of how I occupy the space of a courtroom. Like theatre, there’s a sartorial element as well. 

I have defended many clients who are factually guilty in cases where that was never in dispute. The dismissal of their charges came about through my ability to demonstrate that their Charter rights were violated — so much so that their charges could not stand. When this happens, guilty people go free. It’s a judicial recognition of the state’s failure to uphold values we’ve collectively bought into.  

While our judicial system is not perfect, it is one of the best in the world, because we have judges brave enough to apply the Charter meaningfully. They can’t do that without criminal defence lawyers to expose these injustices and ask that something be done about them. That is an honour I take seriously.

Misha Feldmann ’96, discipline counsel, Law Society of Ontario; law degrees from University of Ottawa, University of Toronto

UCC helped put me on a legal-career path by giving me a broad education and letting me explore different interests. I worked in the Little Theatre and took lots of science classes. I thought I might go into engineering or medicine, but changed to a liberal arts focus at McGill and earned a BA in history.  

UCC encouraged students to give back, and I took that to heart. Representing criminal defendants — and now the broader public interest — feels like a continuation of my time at the school. Having a wider sense of purpose is important to me. 

I started representing clients in the Ontario Court of Justice, and then in jury trials in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. I developed an interest in arguing appeals in the Court of Appeal and the summary conviction appeals court. 

Being a criminal lawyer is a great job, but it is grueling. Clients call at all hours, and Legal Aid Ontario is underfunded. The job is stressful with clients in challenging circumstances. When I closed my firm and joined the Law Society, I was looking for more stability and less stress, but wanted to keep litigating cases and work in the public interest. 

Currently I help ensure lawyers and paralegals meet the high standards of the profession, which is self-regulating — meaning other lawyers and paralegals make the rules about who can practise, and under what conditions. The main qualification is integrity: can you trust your lawyer with your money? Can a court trust a lawyer when they say something? 

Ethical lawyers acting with integrity secures the rule of law. I help ensure the profession can continue to play a role in maintaining Canadian democracy.

Cal Rosemond ’08, principal, Rosemond Law; law degrees from University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, University of Windsor   

My job is serious and important, but also entertaining. People in entertainment will say the magic formula is you have two parties that disagree, and they both have a point. That’s pretty much every moment as a trial lawyer. It’s interesting and motivating, and while other jobs can become boring or redundant, I don’t find that in my job at all.

At UCC, the biggest impetus to my future career was the debate club. I use what I learned there every day. That, along with my parents’ influence, and knowing what I was good and not so good at, helped me realize this was something I could do and make a difference in. 

I’m grateful for the American legal education I got, and having the perspective of two different legal traditions in my mind at all times. It helps me navigate various legal problems and sometimes allows for a different approach I wouldn’t otherwise have. 

We’re lucky to have a system in which people have an opportunity to voice their perspectives in legal cases, and which allows justice to be done. It’s obviously important in criminal law that people are not wrongfully convicted, and it’s my job as a defence lawyer to be a bulwark against that. 

Since ancient times, the idea has been that the truth comes in the middle, and that’s where you have the best outcomes. I certainly experienced that in UCC debates, whether debating some of the country’s top teams or in house debating. Once both sides had advanced their arguments, you had a greater sense of the truth. 

I feel fortunate to see the justice system on a ground level and be able to understand it in that nuanced way.

Justin Yuen ’11, founding partner, Yuen Dimitrijevic LLP; law degrees from the University of Kent, York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School

I pursued law right out of UCC. After graduating, I moved to England, where I studied for three years, after which I received my master’s degree from Osgoode Hall. Within five years of graduating UCC, I became a lawyer.

I attended the College from years 1 through 12. It instilled a sense of the institutions, including law, that are the foundations of our society. UCC exposes you to various public speaking opportunities, oral exams and assignments. We’re taught not only to think and write, but also to respond on our feet and deal with uncomfortable positions. This prepared me for courtroom litigation.  

Becoming a defence lawyer was certainly not as common as pursuing corporate law. 

In my first year, I completed a summer placement in Hong Kong in a corporate environment. The firm was suing somebody who was also facing criminal fraud charges. I was sent to watch the criminal trial to see how we could bolster the civil case. The watching brief showed me the formalities of court, and a trial conducted in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. It was more fun than anything civil, corporate, or real estate related I was doing at the firm.

Criminal law is not about contracts, numbers, and money. The stakes could not be higher for your client. Liberty is at stake. Criminal trials shine a light on accountability. Society has a great interest in ensuring those who are guilty are held accountable by being sentenced accordingly, as well as ensuring the police is accountable for its actions and the power the law affords them.

Criminal law continues to inspire me to see how I fit in helping to uphold the fundamentals on which our society is built.