History

It was November 1st, 1971 when ten of the leading criminal counsel in Ontario, recognizing the need for an organized voice to represent the criminal bar, formed The Ontario Criminal Lawyers Association. Those founding members – Hugh R. Locke, David G. Humphrey, Gordon Ecclestone, Martin Kerbel, James Austin, William G. Murphy, Frances X. Fay, Clive Bynoe, Ronald Crane and Clare Lewis, as well as the members who joined their effort, contributed immensely to the Association through the years to achieve its successful position today.

Today, the Ontario Criminal Lawyers’ Association is one of the largest specialty legal organizations in Canada, comprising of more than 1,800 members, including observer members from across Canada.

Past Presidents:

The Hon. H.R. Locke
B.C. Bynoe, Q.C.
The Hon. A.C. Whealy
R.J. Carter, Q.C.
The Hon. R.G. Thomas
E.J. Levy, Q.C.
B.H. Greenspan
The Hon. B. Durno (1992-1996)
Alan D.Gold (1996-2001)
The Hon. M.K. Fuerst (2001-2002)
Ralph B. Steinberg (2002-2005)
The Hon. L. Botham (2005-2007)
Frank Addario (2007-2009)
The Hon. Paul Burstein (2009-2011)
The Hon. Norm Boxall (2011-2013)
Anthony Moustacalis (2013-2017)
Michael Lacy (2017-2019)
John Struthers (2019-2022)
Daniel Brown (2022-2023)