Howard C. Cohen & Associates
2 lawyers · City of Toronto
One of 2,345 law firms listed in Toronto, and one of 455 handling Criminal Defence.
About Howard C. Cohen & Associates
Howard C. Cohen & Associates is a small Toronto firm that combines criminal defence with civil litigation. Founder and senior lawyer Howard C. Cohen has held the Law Society of Ontario's Certified Specialist in Criminal Law designation for close to 20 years, and the firm says its two lawyers bring more than 40 years of combined experience to their work. Cohen's criminal defence career goes back to the late 1970s and has included drug prosecutions built on wiretap evidence, along with matters involving homicide, robbery, and major fraud charges.
Cohen practices alongside Avin Persad-Ford, who joined the firm in August 2015 and was called to the Ontario bar in 2023. Persad-Ford's background includes degrees in commerce, forensic accountancy, and international tax law, certifications as a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Executor Advisor, and ongoing study toward a Master of Taxation at the University of Waterloo. In 2022, Persad-Ford published an article on the jurisdiction of criminal law in outer space in the LSE Law Review.
The firm's core idea is that a single set of facts can trigger criminal charges and a civil, administrative, or regulatory matter at the same time, from a workplace investigation tied to a dismissal to an insurance dispute tied to a fraud charge, and that one team handling both can save clients from retaining separate lawyers for each side of the same case.
Practice areas
Milestones & recognition
- Howard C. Cohen has held the Law Society of Ontario's Certified Specialist in Criminal Law designation for close to 20 years.
- Cohen's criminal defence work dates back to the late 1970s, including drug trials that relied on wiretap evidence.
- Avin Persad-Ford, who joined the firm in August 2015 and was called to the Ontario bar in 2023, published "Houston, We Have a Problem, Jurisdictional Issues of Criminal Law in Outer Space" in the LSE Law Review in November 2022.
- Persad-Ford holds certifications as a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Forensic Investigator, and Certified Executor Advisor, and belongs to the Toronto Lawyers Association and the Canadian Tax Foundation.
Lawyers 2
Certified Specialists
A designation granted by the Law Society of Ontario, not a self-declared area of focus.
This firm’s lawyers at a glance
- Called to the bar
- 2023 · median 3 years in practice 1 of 2 lawyers
Who handles what
The neighbourhood
Howard C. Cohen & Associates is in the Northern Ontario Building at 330 Bay Street, a heritage listed office building in Toronto's Bay Street corridor. It went up in 1925, designed by Chapman and Oxley. It's a Classical Revival high rise that was substantially renovated in 1982, when a stepped addition was built onto the north side and part of the old Savarin Tavern's facade was worked into the new structure.
That's downtown finance and office country rather than a courthouse block, which suits a firm whose civil docket runs through professional negligence, tax evasion, and insurance disputes as much as it runs through criminal defence.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Howard C. Cohen & Associates handle cases where a client faces both criminal charges and a related civil lawsuit?
- Yes, that overlap is the firm's main focus. It represents clients in matters that touch criminal, civil, administrative, and regulatory proceedings at once, such as a fraud allegation that also draws a civil claim or a workplace investigation tied to a dismissal, so clients don't need separate lawyers for each side of the same case.
- Can the firm defend a white collar crime or fraud charge?
- Yes. White collar crime and fraud and theft charges are both listed among the firm's criminal defence practice areas, alongside related civil claims such as professional negligence and tax evasion that can arise from the same conduct.
- I've been charged with impaired driving, can Howard C. Cohen & Associates represent me?
- Yes. The firm's criminal defence practice covers impaired driving by alcohol and impaired driving by drugs, along with other driving related charges.
- Does the firm handle employment disputes for both employees and employers?
- Yes. The firm represents both sides of employment disputes, including wrongful and constructive dismissal, notice of termination, and workplace discrimination claims, and notes it can help when a termination overlaps with a police investigation or criminal charge.
- What kind of real estate matters does the firm handle?
- The firm's real estate practice is litigation focused rather than transactional. It covers realty litigation such as a sale that doesn't close, fraudulent conveyances, property misrepresentation, and broker negligence, plus injunctions and civil asset forfeiture matters.
- Does the firm represent clients in Small Claims Court?
- Yes. Small Claims Court handles disputes over money, personal property, or damages valued at or below $25,000, and the firm's paralegals assist with claims there, including unpaid accounts, unpaid rent, breach of contract, and property damage disputes.
Where to find them
330 Bay Street, Suite 500, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2S8 · 416-364-7436
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