Leading Criminal Defence Lawyers in Melbourne for Sentencing Appeals

Sentencing appeals to the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria require demonstration of error in the sentence as imposed, whether of principle, factual finding, or quantum. The appellate framework is procedurally distinct from the trial and requires specific experience in appellate criminal practice. 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

Bill Doogue is Director and founding partner of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers, which he established in 1995. Admitted to practice in 1991 and an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998, he is ranked Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence by Doyle's Guide and listed in Best Lawyers for Criminal Defence (2025). The firm he founded has defended more than 40,000 prosecutions and carries a reputation at the serious end of Australian criminal defence.

One of the defining features of his approach is the emphasis on intervening before charges are formally laid, working at the investigation stage to prevent matters from escalating. His practice concentrates on tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters. He has appeared before the High Court of Australia, appeared in courts across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia, appeared on behalf of clients at Royal Commission hearings, and has advised clients internationally in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore.

Doogue 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. His work has been reported in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail. He served for over a decade as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre. A Wikipedia entry documents the range of his career, spanning terrorism, foreign bribery, political corruption, Royal Commission representation, and institutional abuse matters. For complex briefs where the investigation phase is as consequential as the trial, his record of pre-charge strategic intervention is what distinguishes him.

2. Emma Turnbull, Emma Turnbull and Associates

Legal aid practice sits alongside indictable criminal defence in Emma Turnbull's work as Partner and Director of Emma Turnbull and Associates. That breadth reflects ongoing engagement across the Victorian criminal defence profession at more than one level of the system.

She operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor and heads her own boutique. Matters are conducted by her directly, with consistent senior practitioner involvement. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs where legal aid and indictable work intersect, her practice covers the relevant ground.

3. Howard Rapke, Holding Redlich

Best Lawyers has listed Howard Rapke for Criminal Defence, Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution continuously since 2017, making him one of the more comprehensively recognised commercial criminal lawyers in Victoria. He is a Partner at Holding Redlich and the firm's National Head of Disputes and Litigation, with more than 30 years of practice across complex commercial criminal and regulatory matters.

Doyle's Guide recognises him as a Leading Victorian Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer and as a Leading Australian White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations Lawyer. Who's Who Legal lists him as a global leader in Business Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery since 2019. His practice covers fraud, foreign bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and enforcement by ASIC and the ACCC, across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions.

4. Peter Rankin, Peter Rankin Lawyers

Peter Rankin practises Victorian criminal defence as a Partner at Peter Rankin Lawyers, an independent practice he heads. Operating as both solicitor advocate and instructor, he can run contested matters at hearing personally or instruct counsel where the brief calls for it.

The independence of the practice, with Rankin as the named partner conducting matters directly, means there is no question of whether the brief will be handled by the senior practitioner or passed down. For referrers who value direct senior involvement and the flexibility of the dual solicitor-advocate model, his practice structure is the relevant feature.

Selection of counsel in this category depends on the nature of the charge, the jurisdiction, the stage of proceedings, and the specific facts of the matter. Early engagement of senior counsel materially affects outcomes, particularly where decisions made at the investigation or pre-charge stage shape what is available later. The practitioners profiled above are a starting point for informed referral within Victorian criminal defence.