Pyzer Criminal Lawyers

About Pyzer Criminal Lawyers

Pyzer Criminal Lawyers is a small criminal defence firm based on Eglinton Avenue West in midtown Toronto. Jonathan Pyzer and Ian Kostman founded the practice in 2002 under the name Kostman and Pyzer, Barristers. It kept that name for fifteen years, until Kostman's retirement at the end of 2017 after 35 years at the Ontario bar, when the firm took on its current name. The practice handles criminal and quasi-criminal defence only, covering everything from impaired driving and assault to drug, fraud, weapons, and homicide charges at every level of Ontario court.

Jonathan Pyzer, the firm's founder, holds a B.A. with distinction from McGill University and an LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario, plus certificates in peace and conflict resolution and journalism from American University in Washington, D.C. Articles followed at Lerner, Marzel and Associates before Pyzer moved into criminal defence full time. In R. v. Ferguson-Cadore, the firm argued a Charter violation for racial profiling that led to excluded evidence and dismissed charges. Jasmine Mann, who joined more recently, holds a dual Juris Doctor from the University of Windsor and the University of Detroit Mercy. During law school Mann held summer positions at firms in Brampton and Toronto focused on criminal and mental health law, then articled at the Law Office of Patricia Brown before joining Pyzer.