Alberto Zacharias Toron

Practice Areas

Alberto Toron is recognized for his work in various areas of law, especially in criminal law. He is one of the most renowned lawyers in this field, specializing in criminal defense, having represented clients in high-profile cases. In addition to criminal law, Toron also has experience in business law and human rights.

Career

Alberto Toron holds a doctorate and master's degree in Criminal Law from the University of São Paulo (USP), where he completed his PhD in 2003 with a thesis titled "The Penal Inviolability of City Councilors in a Democratic Rule of Law". His master's degree, obtained in 1996, focused on "Aspects of Criminal Policy in the Heinous Crimes Law – The Symbolism of the Law and the Illusion of Punitive Efficiency". He also specialized in Constitutional Law at the University of Salamanca (Spain) in 2014 and completed post-graduate studies in Economic and European Criminal Law at the University of Coimbra (Portugal).

Toron is the founding partner and a criminal defense lawyer at Toron Torihara & Cunha Advogados, a position he has held since 1982. In addition to his legal practice, he is a professor of Criminal Procedure Law at the Foundation Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP), a position he has held since 2015. He has also served in prominent roles within the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), including as a Federal Counsel from 2003 to 2007 and again since 2022. From 2014 to 2016, he served as a Substitute Judge at the São Paulo Regional Electoral Court (TRE-SP).

Toron has held several leadership roles in key legal and academic institutions. He was the former President of the Brazilian Institute of Criminal Sciences (IBCCRIM) and the former President of the State Council on Narcotics (CONEN-SP). He has also been an active member of the Commission on Prerogatives of the OAB/SP from 1983 to 2009 and continues his involvement in various commissions related to the legal profession.

He is the author of several influential books, including "Horrendous Crimes – The Myth of Penal Repression" (1996), "The Penal Inviolability of City Councilors" (2004), "Professional Prerogatives of Lawyers" (2010, co-authored with Alexandra Lebelson Szafir), and "Habeas Corpus: Control of Due Process of Law" (2021).

Toron has also pursued further training internationally, having attended courses in criminal law at institutions such as the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) and the University of Göttingen (Germany), where he studied German criminal law.

Throughout his career, Toron has made significant contributions to criminal law and continues to play an active role in both legal practice and academy.