Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1410197
30 www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse FEATURE Expertise helps boutique firms secure acquittals for wrongly accused people and protect rights in high profile cases Top 10 Criminal Boutiques OUR TOP TEN criminal law boutiques serve clients in a wide range of criminal and regulatory matters, often working on headline-grabbing cases as they fight for justice and accountability. Among our top 10, Toronto-based Lockyer Campbell Posner practises a wide range of criminal law, from defence of the wrongly convicted to driving, drug, tax and homicide cases. As a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for and overturning wrongful convictions and exonerating individuals convicted of a crime they did not commit, Innocence Canada is a frequent client of Lockyer Campbell Posner. Innocence Canada retains the firm to help work on potential wrongful conviction cases. "Quite frankly, the vast majority of wrongful conviction cases that Innocence Canada has helped in overturning were as a net result of the efforts of James Lockyer specifically," says Bhavan Sodhi, legal director at Innocence Canada. Sodhi has worked with the lawyers at Lockyer since she joined Innocence Canada three years ago. She has primarily worked with founding partners James Lockyer and Philip Campbell. "I'm a fairly new call, and as legal director, the benefit of being able to work with these legendary figures of the criminal law bar is just phenomenal," says Sodhi, who is also director of The Innocence Project at Osgoode Hall Law School. "The extent of the knowledge and expertise they have when it comes to working on cases of wrongful convictions, and their willingness to take you under their wing, is amazing." In addition to trying to overturn wrongful convictions, Innocence Canada promotes legal education and reform to prevent future injustices. The organization sees a steady increase in the number of cases each year. As the Ministry of Justice in Canada is considering implementing an independent commission that would assess cases of wrongful conviction, Sodhi is hopeful that this would help reduce wrongful convictions in Canada. "My biggest hope is that if such a commission is implemented, that will be effective," says Sodhi. "I think we're probably the only organization that's hoping to work our way out of work." Innocence Canada has helped to exon- erate 23 innocent people since 1993. "Quite frankly, the vast majority of wrongful conviction cases that Innocence Canada has helped in overturning were as a net result of the efforts of James Lockyer specifically." Bhavan Sodhi, Innocence Canada (a client of Lockyer Campbell Posner) Fighting for justice: