The Lawyers at 551

About The Lawyers at 551

The Lawyers at 551 is a collective of independent criminal defence lawyers who share an office at 551 Gerrard Street East in Toronto. Rather than operating as a single partnership, the firm's five lawyers, Fred Fedorsen, Adam Little, Richard Stern, Carolyne Kerr, and John Raftery, each run an individual criminal and quasi-criminal defence practice while pooling resources, support staff, and knowledge. Fedorsen founded Frederick S. Fedorsen Professional Corporation and works alongside Little, with a shared focus on driving related offences, while Stern, Kerr, and Raftery each maintain a separate solo practice from the same building.

Together, the lawyers bring decades of Ontario courtroom experience to cases involving homicide, drug offences, fraud, sexual assault, and driving charges. Fedorsen earned a law degree from the University of Toronto in 1976 and has practiced criminal law for close to 40 years. Stern was called to the bar in 1980, articled under Edward L. Greenspan, and has kept an office at 551 Gerrard Street East since 1992; the Law Society of Upper Canada has designated Stern a Certified Specialist in criminal law. Kerr, called to the bar in 1988, spent five years as an Assistant Crown Attorney before moving into defence work in 1993, and Raftery, called in 1985, also started out as a Crown prosecutor before moving to the defence side.