Top Canadian criminal lawyer Greenspan has died

TORONTO (AP) - Edward Greenspan, one of Canada's most prominent criminal lawyers, was remembered Wednesday as a force to be reckoned with by many in the legal community who were mourning his death.

His law firm, Greenspan Partners LLP, confirmed his death Wednesday at age 70. Details were not immediately available on the cause of death.

Greenspan represented a number of high-profile clients, including one-time media baron Conrad Black, former theater mogul Garth Drabinsky and German financier Karlheinz Schreiber.

News of his death drew swift reaction from a number of individuals in the legal community, with many calling Greenspan one of the legal profession's best.

"In any courtroom that Eddie Greenspan stood, no matter who else was there ... Eddie Greenspan was the biggest personality in that room," said Toronto criminal lawyer Edward Prutschi, who occasionally worked with Greenspan.

The native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, received a number of honors over the course of his career, including the Law Society Medal, the top honor awarded by the Law Society of Upper Canada, which was bestowed upon him in 2013.

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