YANDY ZUO, Toronto Criminal Defence Lawyer

Yandy Zuo is an associate at Hicks Adams. She practices trauma-informed criminal defence and prioritizes protecting clients’ Charter rights while being mindful of clients’ immigration, housing and family law issues.

Yandy joined the firm in 2024 as a summer student and returned in 2025 as an articling student. During her articles, she assisted various lawyers in charges ranging from assault to murder. She learned that careful analysis of evidence is critical to finding weaknesses in the Crown’s case. Yandy also handled student files where she successfully negotiated the Crown position down from jail time to a discharge. She speaks conversational Mandarin and often interpreted for Mandarin-speaking clients.

Yandy obtained her Juris Doctorate from Osgoode Hall Law School. During her second year, she worked at Community & Legal Aid Services Program (CLASP), Osgoode’s legal aid clinic. As a student caseworker, she worked on numerous assault, mischief and fraud under $5000 files where she consistently negotiated the Crown position down to peace bonds and withdrawals. She also received CLASP’s Prize for Social Justice due to her dedication to supporting low-income clients using a client-centered approach.

Prior to law school, Yandy obtained her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Philosophy from the University of Toronto. During her studies, she published a paper with Professor Jerry Flores that studied the negative effects of COVID-19 on Indigenous women in Toronto. Conducting this research with Professor Flores and her lived experiences growing up in Scarborough strengthened her commitment to being a zealous advocate for marginalized individuals navigating the criminal legal system.