Hamna Anwar

Languages

English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu

Location

Mississauga, Ontario

Email

hamna@hamnaanwarlaw.ca

Phone Number

+19053619931

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Biography

Hamna practises exclusively in criminal defence law, representing clients facing serious and complex criminal charges, at trial and on appeal, at all levels of court in Ontario. Hamna believes that everyone deserves high-quality legal representation regardless of their personal history. She takes a judgment-free approach to her work and is committed to protecting her clients’ fundamental rights and freedoms. Hamna’s appellate work includes appeals involving complex issues of criminal law, Charter rights, evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, sentencing, as well as bail pending appeal.

Hamna recently appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada with Women in Canadian Criminal Defence (WiCCD)’s intervener team in R. v. Burke-Whittaker, contributing to written submissions advocating for the preservation of judicial discretion and access to alternatives to incarceration for women convicted of firearm offences.

In 2026, Hamna was honoured with the Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers (FACL Ontario) in recognition of her contributions to social justice and the legal profession. Hamna serves as an executive with the national advocacy group Women in Canadian Criminal Defence (WiCCD), where she is Co-Director of Membership and Diversity and Co-Editor of The Brew. She previously served as an executive with the Criminal Justice Section and the Women Lawyers Forum of the Ontario Bar Association. She also provides pro bono legal services through the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic’s Criminalization of Women Program.

Hamna earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa in 2017 and was a recipient of the Amatul Rahman Malik Social Justice Fellowship. She earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto in 2012 and subsequently obtained a Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Toronto in 2013, where her thesis examined the intersectionality of race, masculinity, Islamophobia, national security, and the law.