British Columbia directory

Criminal Defence Law Firms in Capital Regional District, British Columbia

28 law firms.

What does a criminal defence lawyer in Greater Victoria do?

A criminal defence lawyer in Greater Victoria represents people charged with a criminal offence, from the first police contact through bail, plea, trial, and sentencing. Common files include impaired driving, assault, theft and fraud, and drug charges. If your matter goes ahead, it's usually heard at the Victoria Law Courts at 850 Burdett Avenue, where the Provincial Court of BC sits. The most serious charges and any jury trial move to the Supreme Court of BC in the same building.

Day to day, the lawyer reviews the Crown's disclosure, spots Charter and evidence problems, advises you on whether to plead or fight, and negotiates with the prosecutor. A single defence practice serves clients right across Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay, and the West Shore, so proximity to your home town matters less than experience with your kind of charge.

How are criminal charges approved in British Columbia?

Here's a real difference in BC: the police don't lay the charge. Officers investigate and send a Report to Crown Counsel, and a prosecutor decides whether the case goes ahead. Crown counsel with the BC Prosecution Service apply a charge-assessment standard, asking whether there's a substantial likelihood of conviction and whether a prosecution is in the public interest (how charges are laid).

The offences themselves come from the Criminal Code, a federal statute that applies the same way in every province. What changes in BC is who screens the file before it reaches court, which can shape the early conversations between your lawyer and the Crown.

Which court hears your case, and can you get legal aid?

Most charges are heard in the Provincial Court of BC. The most serious offences, and any case tried before a jury, go to the Supreme Court of BC. Both sit at the Victoria Law Courts, which serves the Capital region including Langford, Sidney, and Central Saanich.

Cost is a common worry. If you can't afford a lawyer, Legal Aid BC may cover representation for people who meet its financial guidelines and whose charge qualifies. It's worth checking early, because a lawyer involved from the bail stage often shapes what follows.

How do you choose a criminal defence firm in Greater Victoria?

Start with a firm that regularly runs your type of charge, whether that's a roadside impaired case or a serious indictable matter. Ask who will actually appear for you, how the firm balances resolution against trial, and how familiar it is with the local Crown and the Victoria Law Courts. Defence practices sit throughout the region, from downtown Victoria out to Oak Bay and the Saanich Peninsula, so there's usually one within reach.

You can confirm any lawyer's standing on the Law Society of British Columbia directory. Browse the criminal defence firms in Greater Victoria below.

4D Law

1 lawyer

4D Law is a criminal defence firm based in Victoria, British Columbia, serving clients across the province and specializing in Immediate Roadside Prohibitions, impaired driving, and other driving-related offences. The…

Criminal DefenceCriminal Defence

Acumen Law Corporation

10 lawyers · Est. 2008

Acumen Law Corporation is a criminal defence firm serving Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, and Victoria, with a focus on DUI and Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) cases. The firm also handles other criminal matters suc…

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceInsurance LawInsurance LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawPersonal InjuryPersonal Injury

Bastion Law Corporation is a criminal defence firm based in Victoria, BC, that also serves communities across Vancouver Island, including Duncan, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Courtenay and Campbell River. It's known for a f…

Criminal DefenceCriminal Defence

Claus Drury Roy

4 lawyers

Claus Drury Roy is a Victoria, British Columbia criminal defence practice made up of a group of lawyers working under one roof. The firm handles serious criminal matters, including murder, manslaughter, drug offences,…

Criminal DefenceCriminal Defence

Considine & Company is a law firm in Victoria, British Columbia, led by Christopher Considine, KC, who has practised law for more than 40 years. The firm handles personal injury, criminal law, employment law, and medi…

Personal InjuryPersonal InjuryCriminal DefenceCriminal DefenceEmployment & Labour LawEmployment & Labour LawWills, Estates & TrustsWills, Estates & Trusts

Corvus Law

3 lawyers

Corvus Law is a Victoria, BC firm with a second office in Dawson Creek, offering business and corporate, real estate, wills and estates, family, and criminal law services. It was founded by litigator Bobbie Keigan wit…

Business & Corporate LawBusiness & Corporate LawReal Estate LawReal Estate LawWills, Estates & TrustsWills, Estates & TrustsFamily LawFamily Law

Costa Law

1 lawyer

Costa Law is a criminal defence practice run by lawyer Elizabete Costa, a former Crown counsel who moved to private practice in 2017. The firm focuses on criminal, quasi-criminal, and regulatory litigation, along with…

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceAdministrative & Regulatory LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawLegal aidLegal Aid

Firestone & Tyhurst Law is a Victoria, BC firm practising family law, criminal law, civil litigation, and personal injury law. The firm offers a free half-hour initial consultation and a 24-hour emergency phone line f…

Family LawFamily LawCriminal DefenceCriminal DefenceCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionPersonal InjuryPersonal Injury

Foundation Law Corporation (FLC) is a Richmond, British Columbia firm serving Chinese and Canadian clients, with additional offices in downtown Vancouver and Victoria. It practises family, business, real estate, immig…

Family LawFamily LawBusiness & Corporate LawBusiness & Corporate LawReal Estate LawReal Estate LawImmigration LawImmigration Law

Infinity Law

14 lawyers · Est. 2013

Infinity Law is a law firm formed in 2013 through the union of two established Victoria, BC firms, with offices in Victoria (Broadmead and Downtown), Nanaimo, Mill Bay, and Vancouver. It practices commercial and civil…

Civil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionBusiness & Corporate LawBusiness & Corporate LawCriminal DefenceCriminal DefenceWills, Estates & TrustsWills, Estates & Trusts

Lextegic Law Corporation is a full-service law firm headquartered in Victoria, BC, with additional offices in Burnaby and Langford, and satellite offices in Dubai and Sydney. It practises across real estate, business …

Real Estate LawReal Estate LawBusiness & Corporate LawBusiness & Corporate LawWills, Estates & TrustsWills, Estates & TrustsImmigration LawImmigration Law

Lugosi Law

1 lawyer

Lugosi Law is a litigation boutique based in Victoria, British Columbia, led by Charles Lugosi, a barrister and solicitor admitted in both Ontario and British Columbia. The firm focuses on constitutional and Charter l…

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionAdministrative & Regulatory LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawFamily LawFamily Law

Marshall Massey Alberto is a Victoria, BC law firm focused on criminal defence, with additional practices in family law, professional discipline, and PharmaCare audits. Its lawyers appear regularly in the BC Provincia…

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceFamily LawFamily LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawLegal aidLegal Aid

McCullough Watt Sutton Lynskey Hodson & Dosanjh is a Victoria, BC trial law firm founded in 1994, focused on criminal defence across British Columbia. Its team of partners and associates handles cases from initial cha…

Criminal DefenceCriminal Defence

McKimm & Lott

7 lawyers · Est. 1972

McKimm & Lott is a law firm with offices in Sidney and on Salt Spring Island, BC, serving the Saanich Peninsula and Gulf Islands since 1972. Its lawyers handle wills and estates, business law, real estate, family law,…

Wills, Estates & TrustsWills, Estates & TrustsBusiness & Corporate LawBusiness & Corporate LawReal Estate LawReal Estate LawFamily LawFamily Law

Merchant Law Group LLP is a national Canadian law firm with offices in more than 15 cities across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. It practises personal injury, family law, crimi…

Personal InjuryPersonal InjuryFamily LawFamily LawCriminal DefenceCriminal DefenceClass ActionsClass Actions

Morahan & Company Law Offices is a boutique firm in Victoria, BC practising criminal defence, Aboriginal law, family law, and civil litigation. The firm is built around lawyer Rory Morahan's decades of trial experienc…

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceIndigenous LawIndigenous LawFamily LawFamily LawCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Mulligan Defence Lawyers, previously known as Mulligan Tam Pearson, is a criminal defence firm based in downtown Victoria, BC. Its lawyers represent clients at all levels of British Columbia's courts and in the Suprem…

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceAdministrative & Regulatory LawAdministrative & Regulatory LawCivil Litigation & Dispute ResolutionCivil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Neil Brooks

1 lawyer

Neil Brooks is a solo criminal defence trial lawyer serving Vancouver Island and British Columbia. He handles serious criminal matters including Charter applications, impaired driving, drug offences, assault, sexual o…

Criminal DefenceCriminal Defence

Ng Sidhu Law

2 lawyers

Ng Sidhu Law is a personal injury, family and criminal law firm headquartered in Surrey, BC, with additional offices across the Lower Mainland, including Abbotsford, and in Victoria. It is an association of independen…

Personal InjuryPersonal InjuryCriminal DefenceCriminal DefenceFamily LawFamily LawWills, Estates & TrustsWills, Estates & Trusts

Pacific Coast Law is a small litigation-focused firm serving Vancouver Island, including Greater Victoria, the Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Comox, and Campbell River, with offices in Victoria and Nanaimo. Its …

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceFamily LawFamily Law

Richard Neary Law Corp

1 lawyer · Est. 2011

Richard Neary Law Corp is a Victoria, British Columbia law firm handling criminal defence, personal injury, family law, and income tax matters. Founded by Richard Neary in 2011 after nearly seven years at Victoria fir…

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefencePersonal InjuryPersonal InjuryFamily LawFamily LawTax LawTax Law

Simair Law

1 lawyer

Simair Law is a Victoria, British Columbia criminal defence practice run by lawyer Geofrey D. Simair, who has practised law since 1996. The firm represents clients facing assault, impaired driving, drug, and theft cha…

Criminal DefenceCriminal Defence

Steele Law Corporation is a criminal defence firm based in Victoria, BC, with additional offices in Vancouver (since 2012) and Kelowna (since 2018). It handles a range of criminal matters, including impaired driving, …

Criminal DefenceCriminal DefenceAdministrative & Regulatory LawAdministrative & Regulatory Law