Brian H. Greenspan, (born March 14, 1947 in Niagara Falls, Ontario) is a Canadian criminal defence lawyer. He is the senior partner in the Toronto firm Greenspan, Humphrey, Makepeace LLP and one of the most prominent defence lawyers in Canada.[1][2]
Career
Greenspan received his B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1968 and his LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1971. He received his LL.M. from the London School of Economics in 1972. He was called to the Bar in 1974. He taught the Administration of Criminal Justice at Osgoode Hall Law School from 1977 to 1984 and was a special lecturer in Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto Law School from 1984 to 1998.
Greenspan is a senior partner in the Toronto firm Greenspan, Humphrey, Weinstein. He is the brother of the late Edward Greenspan,[3] also a well-known Canadian lawyer, and Rosann Greenspan, Executive Director of the Center for Law and Society (ret.) at the University of California, Berkeley . Greenspan is married to Marla Berger, and is the father of Jared and Jenna Greenspan and the grandfather of Lucy, Greta, Sam and Oliver.
Greenspan was President of the Criminal Lawyers' Association (Ontario) from 1989 to 1993[4] and was the founding Chair of the Canadian Council of Criminal Defence Lawyers from 1992 to 1996.[5][6]
Greenspan is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and Litigation Counsel of America.[7] He was awarded the Douglas K. Laidlaw Medal for excellence in oral advocacy in 2002[8] and received the G. Arthur Martin Medal for contributions to criminal justice in Canada in 2010.[9] In 2012, he was recognized by the Law Society of Upper Canada with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.[10] In 2013, he was awarded the Alumni Gold Key for Achievement by Osgoode Hall; received the "Key to the City" of his hometown, Niagara Falls, Ontario; and was selected as an "Alumni of Influence" by University College of the University of Toronto.[11][12][13] In 2020, Greenspan was honoured by the Toronto Lawyers Association with the Award of Distinction, was the Milvain Chair in Advocacy at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law and received Chambers Canada's Lifetime Achievement Award. Greenspan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Innocence Canada Foundation.[14]
Greenspan has been recognized in The International Who's Who of Business Crime Lawyers[15] and The Best Lawyers in Canada since their inception and is a Band 1 leading individual in White Collar Crime in Chambers Canada.[16][17] He has been named three times [18] as one of the 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.[19][20] He was also named one of the 50 Most Influential Torontonians by Toronto Life in 2021.
