Welcome to Ralph Steinberg Law

Effective Advocacy, Successful Results!

Have you been charged with an offence? As an experienced criminal defence lawyer and past president of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, Ralph Steinberg will fight to protect your rights and freedom. Call him today to find out how you can successfully defend your case.

Toronto, ON

DECADES OF EXPERIENCE

About Ralph Steinberg

Since 1977 Ralph Steinberg has practised exclusively in criminal and quasi-criminal law. He has been certified as a Specialist in Criminal Law by the Law Society of Ontario since 1996. His decades of experience also include the defence of administrative law and licensing and discipline cases in regulated professions and occupations.

He has represented clients in all levels of court in Canada, as well as before many disciplinary and administrative tribunals in Ontario, and provides consultation services to other law firms and businesses. He does not retain agents to argue cases and guarantees clients his personal services, both in trial preparation and at trial.

Ralph Steinberg has earned a strong reputation as a detail-oriented and thorough criminal defence counsel who is respected by lawyers and judges alike for his litigation skills and comprehensive defence of complex cases. He has mentored many defence counsel throughout the years and is consulted by members of the profession on a continuing basis.

Knowledge & Credentials

Ralph is a member of Criminal Law Chambers, a specialized “boutique” law chambers in downtown Toronto that includes close to a dozen criminal defence counsel.

Frequent and comprehensive consultation among the barristers in chambers and group seminar presentations allow clients to benefit from the wealth of talent and experience available.

Criminal prosecution involves the possibility of a criminal record and incarceration and many collateral consequences, including limiting employment and travel opportunities, registration as a sex offender, and DNA databank orders. Professional and occupational discipline cases affect an individual’s reputation, as well as continued licensing and future employment prospects. If you are facing criminal charges, or even if you think you are under investigation, consultation with a criminal defence lawyer before speaking with police or disciplinary investigators is essential to the preservation of your rights and the limitation of evidence available to the prosecution.

Being subject to criminal or disciplinary proceedings is stressful enough without media attention. Ralph Steinberg strives to achieve the best possible result for his clients and avoids publicity, favouring discreet representation, as media attention rarely, if ever, benefits clients.

Why Choose Ralph Steinberg

Communication and Responsiveness
Continual lawyer-client communication is essential in the defence of a criminal case, as important decisions must be made throughout the process. Client anxiety is considerably reduced when the client understands their position and the manner in which the defence is being conducted before and during trial. Ralph ensures each client understands all aspects of the case throughout the course of his representation and responds quickly to client inquiries.
Proven Defence Strategies
With more than 4 decades of experience, Ralph has developed successful litigation skills that will advance your cause. Ralph knows how to focus on the most effective means of defending your case. He is knowledgeable in the art of negotiation with prosecutors and persuasive in the courtroom. Ralph will tenaciously continue to advocate on your behalf with strong and consistent arguments until the charge is withdrawn, an acquittal entered, or the penalty reduced. His resourcefulness and experience have resulted in high success rates in his defence of criminal, professional, and occupational discipline cases.
Comprehensive Approach
The secret behind Ralph's success is his meticulous methods. He takes all relevant information into consideration because he understands that in criminal defence, the first shot has to be the best shot. That means leaving no details unscrutinized. Through careful and comprehensive cross-examination of prosecution witnesses and marshalling defence evidence, Ralph opens up possibilities from all angles to help his client achieve the most optimal result.

Professional Involvement with the Criminal Justice System

As a former President of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association and co-president of the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (now Innocence Canada), Ralph Steinberg has also been active in the legal community. He has years of involvement with administrative aspects of the criminal justice system, having acted in the following capacities:

Chairperson of the Coalition for Legal Aid Reform

Member of the Chief Justice of Ontario Advisory Committee on Professionalism

Member of the Chief Justice’s Committee on Criminal Trials in the Superior Court of Justice and co-author of New Approaches to Criminal Trials: The Report of the Chief Justice’s Advisory Committee on Criminal Trials in the Superior Court of Justice

Chairperson and member of the Legal Aid Ontario Criminal Law Advisory Committee

Delegate to International Criminal Bar plenary meetings

Member of the Criminal Justice Working Group of the Justice Summit and co-author of the Ontario Court of Justice Case Management and Bail Protocol

Media interviews involving justice system issues

Chairperson of the Coalition of Legal Organizations on Paralegal Regulation, Criminal Law

Member of Attorney General’s Panel on Justice and the Media and co-author of its Report

Member of the Toronto Region Superior Court bench and bar committee

Ralph Steinberg has acted in a formal capacity as a mentor to junior counsel for the Law Society of Ontario, Legal Aid Ontario, and the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, as well as in an informal capacity, maintaining a longstanding tradition of mentorship of junior counsel in the criminal defence bar.

For many years Ralph has acted as an Alternate Chairperson of the Ontario Review Board, a statutory tribunal which adjudicates cases for individuals found not criminally responsible or unfit to stand trial. He has also appeared as a guest speaker and lecturer at conferences and seminars conducted by the Law Society of Ontario, Osgoode Hall Law School, the University of Toronto Law School, the Criminal Lawyers’ Association, the Ontario Review Board, and the Ontario Bar Association.

He is able to serve clients in English, French, and Spanish.