Margaret Bojanowska,

Barrister, B.A., LL.B.

Senior Defence Counsel

Margaret has devoted her practice exclusively to criminal defence litigation.  She is an experienced lawyer dedicated to advocating on her client’s behalf. She has a varied criminal litigation practice focused on both trial and appellate work.  Margaret is passionate about effective advocacy and in particular skilled and vigorous cross examination.  She has represented clients and secured acquittals at all levels of court in Ontario.  She is also an effective and experienced appellate lawyer having argued many appeals before the Ontario Court of Appeal. 

Margaret has also defended numerous professional clients before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the College of Nurses, the College of Medical Radiation Technologists, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons, and the College of Teachers.

She is an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and has been one of the Instructors in the Trial Advocacy Course at Osgoode Hall Law School for the past 7 years. Margaret has also been actively involved in the Pro Bono Appellate Duty Counsel program at the Ontario Court of Appeal offering her time to assist inmates in need of legal assistance before the Court of Appeal.  She has been a long standing member of the Criminal Lawyer’s Association. Margaret has also been a speaker in continuing educational programs for other criminal defence lawyers as part of the Six Minute Criminal Defence Lawyer Conference, the Law Garage Series, Osgoode CPD, WELL program, and the Young Criminal Lawyer’s Conference as well as the CLA Fall Conference. She is also editor of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association’s magazine For The Defence.

Alannah is a trial and appellate lawyer who brings a thoughtful and steadfast approach to the defence of criminal charges. Before joining Margaret, she articled at a boutique Toronto firm dealing with criminal and quasi-criminal matters at all levels of court.  Alannah dives headfirst into whatever files she can get her hands on, and, as a result, gained experience in matters ranging from homicides, serious sexual assault, domestic abuse matters to drug importation and arson. She always continues to expand her horizons by achieving excellent results for clients at all stages of the criminal process, from serious contested bails to contested motions and to trial proper. Alannah recently published an article in For the Defence Magazine (January 2023 issue) titled, "Capacity, Fraud, Consent - Which One, When?" addressing the complex topic of a complainant's capacity to consent in sexual assault cases. 

Alannah obtained her law degree from Osgoode Hall law school. During law school, she was involved in the Osgoode negotiation club, OUTLaws, and the Legal and Literary Society – Osgoode's student government – as Equity Officer. In addition to her extracurricular activities, Alannah completed the criminal law intensive program in her final year, shadowing judges of the Superior Court and Court of Appeal for Ontario and assisting with legal research and support duties for various criminal trials, including one complex co-accused homicide matter.

While studying at Osgoode, Alannah found ways to marry her academic interest in jurisprudence and legal systems with her desire to improve access to justice. In her second year, she worked with Palma Paciocco as a research assistant to study the impact of COVID-19 on the rights of accused persons to trial within a reasonable time, with the fruits of that research being published in the Fall 2020 issue of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal. Later, she worked as a consultant in conjunction with the Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission to assist with preparation of the Commission's final report investigating the spread of COVID‑19 within long-term care homes and making recommendations to the Ministry.

Alannah has also studied French Language and Literature at Glendon College before ultimately completing a dual major Honours bachelor's degree in political science and criminology at the University of Toronto.
Alannah is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Criminal Lawyers' Association, and Women in Canadian Criminal Defence. In her free time, Alannah enjoys hosting dinner parties and bingeing reruns of Agatha Christie's Poirot.