Former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi has hired prominent criminal lawyer Marie Henein amid allegations he assaulted and sexually abused nine women and a man.

Henein holds a reputation as rigorous and well-prepared in the courtroom with a number of high-profile wins to her name. She is best known for representing former attorney general Michael Bryant, and more recently, the 27-year-old woman accused of assault for tossing a beverage at Mayor Rob Ford at the Taste of Little Italy festival in 2013.

The Toronto police sex crimes unit is investigating at least three complaints against Ghomeshi. No charges have yet been laid.

Last week at a gala dinner honouring past presidents of the Criminal Lawyers Association, Henein, CLA treasurer and the evening’s emcee, joked about Ghomeshi.

“As criminal lawyers we represent people who have committed heinous acts. Acts of violence. Acts of depravity. Acts of cruelty. Or as Jian Ghomeshi likes to call it, foreplay,” she said to the crowd of about 450 lawyers, including judges of both the provincial and superior court where his case might be heard if charges are laid.

She also joked that she and Eddie Greenspan, famed Canadian criminal lawyer and the evening’s keynote speaker, have worked together for many years. “Some criminal. Some regulatory. Some light BDSM.” Both jokes drew huge laughs from the crowd at the Ritz Carlton.

Henein’s CV is impressive. Now heading her own defence firm, Henein Hutchison LLP, she previously was partner at Greenspan’s firm.

In 2013, Henein was the recipient of the Laura Legge award, which recognizes women lawyers in Ontario who have demonstrated exemplary leadership.

Bryant, a Harvard-educated lawyer, retained Henein in 2009 when he was charged in the death of bicycle courier Darcy Allan Sheppard. The charges – criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death – were later dropped.

Henein “seemed to channel Hannibal Lecter,” Bryant wrote in his 2012 book, 28 Seconds. “So able was she to find a person’s deepest frailties and exploit them.”

Counted among her accomplishments is a term as co-chair of the Masters of Law program at Osgoode Hall, her alma mater, and 14 years as an adjunct professor at the school.

She also holds a Masters in Law from Columbia University.

“Marie is wickedly smart, she has amazing knowledge and grasp of criminal law and she’s a fighter,” lawyer and former colleague Todd White told The Star in 2013.

Apart from over two decades of experience practicing law, Henein, born in Cairo, is a mother of two school-aged boys.

Among her victories in court is the case of junior hockey coach David Frost, who was acquitted of sexual exploitation charges in 2008.

Another was her successful defence of Daniel Weiz, one of the young men charged in the 1999 beating death of 15-year-old Dmitri (Matti) Baranovski.

While her name has appeared in the press countless times, peers say she doesn’t seek out the high-profile cases – they come find her.

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Henein will defend Ghomeshi alongside Scott Hutchison and Danielle Robitaille, her colleagues at Henein Hutchison LLP.

With files from Betsy Powell and Carys Mills.

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