Matthew Eaton-Kent

Matthew is a J.D. graduate of Queen's University law school. He also earned a Bachelor of Science from the London School of Economics (U.K.).

He is the principal barrister at Eaton-Kent Law and focuses on criminal defence trials and appeals, as well as panel work for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. His practice is located mainly in Southern Ontario and Nunavut.

In conjunction with his practice, Matthew also works on reforming the system. He is currently the Team Lead for the Indigenous Youth-Centred Justice Project, a judicial reform initiative. The initiative is a partnership between the Indigenous Court Workers program in five provinces and territories and Toronto Metropolitan University. The focus of the project is to reduce adult recidivism by Indigenous youth with involvement in the child welfare and youth criminal justice system. Matthew is formerly the Resource (Policy) Coordinator for the Cross-over Youth Project a similar project that was also funded by the Canadian Federal Department of Justice.

Matthew does additional policy work including consulting on judicial reform initiatives for the Traumatic Brain Injury Youth Justice Project and the Brain Injury Society of Toronto.

Matthew presents and leads seminars on youth justice and child’s rights both in Canada and internationally, including in the UK, Armenia and Turkey.

Before returning to Canada, Matthew worked in the Immediate Office of the Prosecutor at the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on the war crimes prosecutions.

Matthew is a member in good standing of the Law Society of Ontario and the Law Society of Nunavut. He is also an active member of the Criminal Lawyers' Association.