Michael Code

COUNSEL

The Honourable Michael Code provides advisory work on criminal and civil matters and public policy. Mr. Code is widely respected for his lifelong dedication to the pursuit of justice. His diverse career spans from criminal and constitutional litigation, public law, legal education, and judicial service.

Mr. Code received three degrees from the University of Toronto and began his legal career focused on criminal and constitutional litigation before expanding into broader areas of public law. Over the course of his career, he has served as defence counsel, Crown counsel, Assistant Deputy Attorney General, law professor and legal writer, and counsel to numerous public institutions, including the British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, and federal Ministries of the Attorney General, as well as the Ontario Court Judges’ Association.

He was in private practice from 1981 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2005. From 1982 to 1996, he served as Associate Editor of the Canadian Rights Reporter. Beginning in 1981, Mr. Code lectured at the University of Toronto, teaching Criminal Law, Evidence, and Criminal Procedure. His contributions to legal education were recognized with the Arbor Award in 2001 and the Alan Mewett Award for Teaching Excellence in 2007 from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

In 2005, Mr. Code left private practice to join the University of Toronto Faculty of Law as an Assistant Professor, where he taught Evidence Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Professional Ethics. In early 2008, he was appointed by the Attorney General for Ontario, alongside former Chief Justice Patrick LeSage, Q.C., to conduct a comprehensive policy review of long and complex criminal trials. The resulting Report of the Review of Long and Complex Criminal Case Procedures made influential recommendations aimed at improving efficiency in the criminal justice system while emphasizing the importance of ethics and professionalism.

In 2009, Mr. Code was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by the federal government. Sitting in Toronto, he presided over numerous lengthy and high-profile matters. He retired from the bench in 2025 after nearly 16 years of distinguished judicial service.

Called to the Ontario Bar in 1981