What is Criminal Set Dates?

A large share of criminal court docket time is consumed by brief, routine appearances — remands to the next available date, matters "to be spoken to," and scheduling appearances like trial date settings and judicial pretrials.

These appearances require a licensed agent present in the courtroom. But for a busy criminal defence practice, physically attending every one of them is time-consuming, expensive, and often logistically impossible when multiple matters land on the same morning in different buildings.

Traditionally, the solution has been to call in a favour, scramble for a junior agent at the last minute, or simply pay a premium through a general-purpose agent service that doesn't know your file or your courthouse.

Criminal Set Dates assigns a dedicated agent to each courthouse in our network. That agent attends every appearance at their location — so they know the courtroom, the docket clerks, the Crown's habits, and what to expect before they walk through the door.

You submit a matter through our portal with the client name, charge, docket number, and appearance date. The system routes it automatically to the right agent. After the appearance, the agent enters the result — next date, any endorsement, whether there was an issue — and you get notified.

No scrambling. No surprises. The same professional, at the same courthouse, every time.

Criminal Set Dates is built for Ontario criminal defence lawyers and licensed paralegals who regularly appear in the Ontario Court of Justice and have a volume of matters that makes personally attending every remand impractical.

It's particularly useful for:

• Solo criminal defence practitioners managing large caseloads
• Small to mid-size criminal firms with appearances in multiple courthouses
• Paralegals handling high-volume POA or Highway Traffic Act matters
• Out-of-town counsel with regular appearances in GTA courts

Agents must be licensed under the Law Society of Ontario to appear in Ontario Court of Justice proceedings.