ABOUT TOBIAS OKADA-PHILLIPS

METICULOUS PREPARATION

Tobias Okada-Phillips is an associate at Paul Lewandowski Criminal Law. Tobias represents clients charged with all types of criminal offences and also assists Mr. Lewandowski with drafting and strategic planning for his matters.

At trial, Tobias has successfully defended clients charged with offences ranging from uttering threats, breach of probation, domestic assaults. Notably, Mr. Okada-Phillips successfully defended a high-profile Ottawa case involving assault, assault with a weapon and resist arrest charges, wherein excessive use of force was used by the police. The defence centered around an issue of mistaken identity. The Crown's position at the outset of the trial was for a period of custody (jail). Midway through trial, after Mr. Okada-Phillips' thorough and methodical cross-examinations of key witnesses, it was clear that the Crown would not be able to meet their burden on the contentious charges. The client walked with a conditional discharge, ensuring no conviction would be registered, sparing him from a criminal record.

Tobias Okada-Phillips is also one of the two lawyers in Ottawa spear-heading a constitutional challenge on the victim fine surcharge by using section 15 (right to equality) and section 7 (right to life, liberty and security of the person) of the Charter of Rights - an extremely complex case that has garnered attention in the National Post and Ottawa Citizen. He has assisted with and obtained impressive results for clients charged with theft, domestic assault, sexual assault, and drug offences. Tobias has appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice, Superior Court of Justice, Immigration and Refugee Board, and Ontario Review Board.

Prior to working with Mr. Lewandowski, Tobias articled at a class action firm in Toronto and worked as a legal consultant at Deloitte. Tobias graduated from Queens Law School and the University of Toronto with a B.A. (Honours). During Law School, Tobias participated and coached a Queens Moot Team, winning a factum award, while also volunteering with Queens Legal Aid and working at the Queens Business Law Clinic.