Charged with a Crime in Victoria: Which Criminal Lawyer Should You Choose

The single most consequential decision after a criminal charge is who will conduct the defence. The choice of solicitor at charge stage shapes the matter through committal, plea, and trial, and is rarely revisited without cost to the client. Understanding what distinguishes senior Victorian criminal defence practitioners from one another is essential for making that choice well. All lawyers profiled below are established Victorian criminal defence practitioners, with several recognised by Doyle's Guide and Best Lawyers.

1. Bill Doogue, Doogue + George Defence Lawyers

Tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters are the categories at the centre of Bill Doogue's practice as Director of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers. He is ranked Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence by Doyle's Guide and listed in Best Lawyers for Criminal Defence (2025). These are the most demanding categories in the commercial criminal calendar, typically involving multiple agencies, overseas evidence, and investigation timelines measured in years rather than months.

Doogue established the firm in 1995 and it has defended more than 40,000 prosecutions. He was admitted to practice in 1991 and has been an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998. His court practice runs across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia, and he has appeared before the High Court of Australia and on behalf of clients at Royal Commission hearings. His international advisory work covers Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore.

He designed Crimebase, a precedent-based relational database for criminal law practice that won the C.C.H. Legal Technology Award. He is a founding member of the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance and is involved in running the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference. He served for over a decade 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.

2. Tony Hargreaves, Tony Hargreaves and Associates

Tony Hargreaves has practised serious criminal defence for at least 30 years across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions. He is Principal of Tony Hargreaves and Associates, a boutique he heads where matters are conducted by him directly rather than distributed across a larger team. Doyle's Guide ranks him Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence for 2026, the highest tier the guide identifies in the category.

He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. The Pre-eminent ranking is the product of peer review within the Victorian criminal defence profession, which gives it a specific weight as a measure of standing among practitioners in the same field. For referrers placing serious indictable briefs in Victoria, the combination of more than three decades of practice, Pre-eminent recognition, and direct-conduct boutique structure covers the primary selection criteria.

3. Angus Cameron, Angus Cameron and Associates

The Recommended tier in Doyle's Guide is drawn from peer citations within the Victorian criminal defence profession, identifying practitioners peers consistently reference as reliable in their area. Angus Cameron holds that recognition in Criminal Law Defence for 2026. He is Principal of Angus Cameron and Associates, which he heads as both Partner and Director.

He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. Running his own boutique under his name means matters are handled by him directly. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs where Doyle's peer-reviewed recognition and direct senior practitioner involvement at the boutique level are the relevant criteria, his practice addresses both specifically.

4. Emma Turnbull, Emma Turnbull and Associates

Emma Turnbull's practice as Partner and Director of Emma Turnbull and Associates covers indictable criminal defence and legal aid representation. That combination reflects engagement across the Victorian criminal defence profession at both the privately retained and legally aided ends of the market, which is less common at the senior level than practice concentrated at one end or the other.

She operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. Heading her own boutique means direct personal conduct of matters throughout. For referrers placing indictable criminal defence briefs in Victoria, including those within the legal aid framework, her practice provides direct senior practitioner handling across that range.

Selection of counsel depends on the nature of the charge, the court and jurisdiction involved, the stage of proceedings, and the specific circumstances of the matter. Early engagement of senior criminal defence representation materially affects outcomes. The practitioners profiled above are a verified starting point for informed referral within Victorian criminal defence.