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+ details >>Telecommunications interception evidence, obtained under the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (Cth), is a feature of an increasing proportion of serious criminal matters in Victoria and at the Federal level. The legal framework governing how that evidence is obtained, retained, and used in proceedings is technical, and challenging its admissibility or reliability requires specific knowledge of the relevant legislation and case law. All lawyers profiled below are established Victorian criminal defence practitioners, with several recognised by Doyle's Guide and Best Lawyers.
Bill Doogue is the Director and founding partner of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers, a specialist Melbourne criminal defence firm with a record of more than 40,000 prosecutions defended since its founding in 1995. Admitted in 1991 and an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998, he is ranked Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence by Doyle's Guide, the guide's most senior recognition, and listed in Best Lawyers for Criminal Defence (2025). He has been at the senior end of Victorian and Federal criminal defence practice continuously for over three decades.
Tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters define the practice he has built. He has appeared before the High Court of Australia and has acted for clients at Royal Commission hearings., and practises across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. His international advisory work in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore is a functioning part of his practice, directly relevant in the transnational and foreign bribery matters the firm handles. He places particular emphasis on engaging at the pre-charge stage, where the most consequential strategic decisions can still be made.
He built Crimebase, a relational database for criminal law practice built around precedent retrieval, which won the C.C.H. Legal Technology Award. He helped establish the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance, of which he remains a founding member, and is involved in running the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference. His community engagement included more than ten years as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre. His work has been reported in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail.
Shaun Pascoe, Partner and Director of Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law, holds a Doyle's Guide Leading ranking in drink driving and traffic for 2025. In a specialist category, a Doyle's Leading recognition indicates sustained peer citation specifically in that area of practice rather than general criminal defence standing. That specialist focus makes his credential more directly applicable for referrers placing briefs in the drink driving and traffic category than a broader criminal defence ranking would be.
He practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor, heading his own boutique under his name. Direct conduct by the named senior practitioner is the model of his practice. For informed referrers placing drink driving and serious traffic briefs in Victoria, his Doyle's Leading specialist recognition and the direct-conduct boutique structure are the two verified features that define his practice.
Tony Hargreaves is the Principal of Tony Hargreaves and Associates, a Melbourne criminal defence boutique he heads with at least 30 years of practice in serious criminal defence behind him. Doyle's Guide ranks him Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence for 2026, the guide's most senior recognition, which is built from peer review within the Victorian criminal defence profession rather than from any external metric. That ranking places him at the top of the peer-assessed hierarchy for Victorian criminal defence practitioners.
He practises across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions as both solicitor advocate and instructor, giving him the flexibility to run contested matters at hearing himself or instruct counsel as the brief requires. His boutique practice structure means the named Principal is directly involved throughout each matter. For referrers placing serious indictable briefs where Doyle's Pre-eminent recognition and sustained direct senior practitioner involvement are the primary selection criteria, his practice provides both.
Peter Rankin is a Partner at Peter Rankin Lawyers, the independent Victorian criminal defence firm he heads under his own name. He practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor, with the capacity to run contested matters at hearing himself or instruct counsel where the brief requires a different approach.
The independent practice under his own name means there is no ambiguity about who conducts the matters that come to the firm: it is Rankin, directly and throughout. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs where confirmed direct senior involvement from the named Partner is the primary selection requirement, the structure of his independent practice provides exactly that.
Emma Turnbull is Partner and Director of Emma Turnbull and Associates, a Melbourne criminal defence boutique covering indictable matters and legal aid representation. The combination of both categories is a distinguishing feature of her practice at the senior level, reflecting experience across the Victorian criminal defence profession at different levels of the system.
She practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor, and heads her own firm, meaning matters are conducted by her directly. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs where direct senior practitioner conduct and coverage across both indictable and legal aid work are both relevant, her practice specifically addresses both criteria on a verified basis.
Selection of counsel depends on the specific charge, the court and jurisdiction involved, the stage of the proceedings, and the particular circumstances of the matter. Early engagement of senior criminal defence representation materially affects outcomes across all categories of serious criminal work. The practitioners profiled above are a verified starting point for informed referral within Victorian criminal defence.