Frank leads ALG’s criminal, quasi-criminal, white collar criminal defence and investigations practice. He is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer, regularly appearing at all levels of court in Ontario and at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Frank has been counsel on numerous individual and corporate investigations, criminal trials in the Superior Court of Justice and appeals in criminal matters before the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Frank is recognized as a leading criminal defence lawyer by his peers. In 2016, he was awarded the G. Arthur Martin Criminal Justice Medal for his life-long commitment to the criminal law. Frank is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the premier organization of trial lawyers in North America. He is also a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers.
Large organizations and public companies retain Frank to conduct internal investigations and to respond to enterprise-threatening events. He regularly advises public bodies and oversight agencies about regulatory, criminal and constitutional law. Few lawyers in Canada have Frank’s experience in managing the overlapping demands of concurrent criminal and regulatory investigations and the media to get safely through a crisis. Frank is committed to using his skills to benefit the community. In 2012 he received the Dianne Martin Medal for Social Justice Through Law. Osgoode Hall Law School awards this medal to a member of the Canadian legal community who has demonstrated a commitment to using the law as a means for achieving social justice. He is a Vice President of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and a Director of the Advocates Society. He is a past President of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association.
NOTABLE CASES
- R. v. MacIsaac, 2018 ONCA 650
- R. v. Dunstan, 2017 ONCA 432
- Camp v. Canada (Attorney General), 2017 FC 240
- S.C. v. N.S., 2017 ONSC 353
- R. v. Zvolensky, 2017 ONCA 273
- R. v. Ahmed, 2017 ONCA 76
- World Bank Group v. Wallace, 2016 SCC 15
- R. v. MacIsaac, 2015 ONCA 587
- R. v. Badgerow, 2014 ONCA 272
- R. v. Cook, 2014 ONCA 170
- R. v. Conception, 2014 SCC 60 (WATCH WEBCAST)
- R. v. Rocheleau, 2013 ONCA 679
- U.S.A. v. Nguyen, 2013 ONSC 4842
- R. v. Frimpong, 2013 ONCA 243
- R. v. Huang, 2013 ONCA 240
- R. v. Cole, 2012 SCC 53 (WATCH WEBCAST)
- R. v. A.R., 2012 ONCJ 268
- R. v. Cole, SCC File No. 24268
- R. v. Cole (2011), 269 C.C.C. (3d) 402 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Yadegari (2011), 276 O.A.C. 322 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Turpin (2011), 272 C.C.C. (3d) 340 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. A.R., 2011 ONCJ 810
- R. v. Badgerow (2010), 260 O.A.C. 273 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Grant, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 353
- R. v. Batisse (2009), 241 C.C.C. (3d) 491 (Ont. C.A.)
- Branch v. Ontario (Ministry of the Environment) (2009), 93 O.R. (3d) 665 (Ont. Sup. Ct.)
- Tele-Mobile Co. v. Ontario, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 305
- R. v. Luedecke (2008), 236 C.C.C. (3d) 317 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Sauvé (2004), 182 C.C.C. (3d) 321 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Glad Day Bookshop (2004), 183 C.C.C. (3d) 449 (Ont. Sup. Ct.)
- R. v. Dimitrov (2003), 181 CCC (3d) 554 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Williams (2003), 181 C.C.C. (3d) 414 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. O’Connor (2002), 170 C.C.C. (3d) 365 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Ruzic, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 687
- R. v. Barrow (2001), 155 C.C.C. (3d) 362 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Suzack (2000), 141 C.C.C. (3d) 449 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Biniaris, [2000] 1 S.C.R. 381
- R. v. Babinski (1999), 135 C.C.C. (3d) 1 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Laws (1998), 128 C.C.C. (3d) 516 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Caputo (1997), 114 C.C.C. (3d) 1 (Ont. C.A.)
- United States of America v. Dynar, [1997] 2 S.C.R. 462
- R. v. Paintings, Drawings, and Photographic Slides of Paintings (1995), 97 C.C.C. (3d) 290 (Ont. Ct. Gen. Div.)
- R. v. Durette, [1994] 1 S.C.R. 469
- R. v. Greenbaum, [1993] 1 S.C.R. 674
- R. v. DeSousa, [1992] 2 S.C.R. 944
- R. v. Lachance, [1990] 2 S.C.R. 1490
- Quebec (Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions) v. Jodoin, 2017 SCC 26
- R. v. Saikaley, 2017 ONCA 374
- R. v. Hart, 2014 SCC 52
- R. v. Yumnu et. al.; R. v. Davey; R. v. Emms, 2012 SCC 73
- R. v. Prokofiew, 2012 SCC 49 (WATCH WEBCAST)
- R. v. Banks (2007), 216 C.C.C. (3d) 19 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. Golden, [2001] 3 S.C.R. 679
- R. v. Cody, 2017 SCC 31
- R. v. Jordan, 2016 SCC 27
- R. v. N.S., 2012 SCC 72 (WATCH WEBCAST)
- R. v. Côté, 2011 SCC 46 (WATCH WEBCAST)
- R. v. Suberu, [2009] 2 S.C.R. 460
- Canada (Attorney General) v. Horvath (2009), 248 C.C.C. (3d) 1 (Ont. C.A.)
- R. v. A.M., [2008] 1 S.C.R. 569
- R. v. Kang-Brown, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 456
- R. v. Clayton, [2007] 2 S.C.R. 725
- R. v. Shearing, [2002] 3 S.C.R. 33
- R. v. Sharpe, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 45
- R. v. McCallen (1999), 131 C.C.C. (3d) 518 (Ont. C.A.)
NOTABLE MEDIA
- Addario, Frank and Megan Savard, “The fast and the furious 11(b): Is the speedy trial a dying franchise?” The Advocates Journal, Summer 2017.
- Addario, Frank, “Role of Defence Counsel Poorly Understood”, The Toronto Star, February 2015.
- Addario, Frank and Megan Savard, “R. v. Lahiry, Unreasonable Delay, and How Life Imitates the Planet Pluto,” For the Defence, June 2013.
- Addario, Frank, “An Absence of Truth in Sentencing”, The Mark Online, February 24, 2010
- Addario, Frank, “Penny-Ante Legal Aid System Creates Two Tiers Of Justice”, The Toronto Star, September 28, 2009
- Addario, Frank, “Tough-on-Crime Politicians Should Focus on Prevention”, The Globe and Mail, May 25, 2009
- Addario, Frank, “Underfunding The Real Crisis”, The Law Times, April 14, 2008
- Addario, Frank, “Judges are Constitutional Guardians, Not Cheerleaders for the Police”, The Globe and Mail, September 17, 2007
- Addario, Frank and Alan Gold, “The Defence Versus Justice Moldaver”, The Toronto Star, December 2006
- Addario, Frank and Marcus Pratt, “R. v. Ghorvei: The Ontario Court of Appeal Polishes Up Some Bad Apples” (2000), 29 C.R. (5th) 111