A genuinely conscious web developer, Jeremy Hammond is accused of using his computer savvy to attack conservative groups and State operators. He is being charged with providing Wikileaks the documents for their latest Stratfor release.
Cyber crime charges under Victorian and Commonwealth law often involve technical forensic evidence, digital chain-of-custody questions, and offences that cross state and Federal jurisdictions. The technical nature of the evidence requires defence practitioners familiar with how digital forensic results are produced and how they can be tested. All lawyers profiled below are established Victorian criminal defence practitioners, with several recognised by Doyle's Guide and Best 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.
As both solicitor advocate and instructor, Angus Cameron has the flexibility to run contested matters at hearing directly or to instruct counsel where the brief calls for it. He is the Principal of Angus Cameron and Associates, practising Victorian criminal defence from a boutique he heads as both Partner and Director.
Doyle's Guide lists him as Recommended in Criminal Law Defence (2026), a peer-reviewed recognition within the Victorian profession. The combination of a direct-conduct boutique model and Doyle's recognition makes him a relevant name for informed referrers assessing Victorian criminal defence representation. Matters are run by him personally, with the senior practitioner present across the life of each brief.
Tony Hargreaves runs his own criminal defence boutique, Tony Hargreaves and Associates, as its Principal. With at least 30 years of practice in serious criminal defence across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions, he has built a practice sustained by peer recognition: Doyle's Guide ranks him Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence (2026), the highest tier the guide identifies.
Practising as both solicitor advocate and instructor, he can run contested matters at hearing personally or instruct counsel where the brief requires it. The boutique structure means continuity of senior involvement across the life of a matter, from first conference through to sentence or acquittal. For referrers whose primary concern is that the senior practitioner named will remain across the life of the brief, his model delivers that assurance.
Emma Turnbull heads Emma Turnbull and Associates as Partner and Director, conducting her Victorian criminal defence practice with direct personal involvement in the matters she takes on. Her work spans indictable matters and legal aid representation.
She practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor. The boutique structure of her firm means continuity of senior involvement from first conference through to resolution, rather than delegation to junior staff. For informed referrers placing indictable briefs in Victoria, including those within the legal aid framework, her direct-conduct model is the relevant feature of her practice.
Two things distinguish Chen Yang's practice: a bilingual capacity in English and Mandarin, and a focus on serious indictable matters with a reputation among peers for thorough preparation. He is Partner and Director of Paul Vale and Associates, practising Victorian criminal defence as both solicitor advocate and instructor.
The bilingual practice is relevant where clients or evidence in a matter involve Mandarin, and the serious indictable focus reflects the level of work his practice is directed at. Both features are from verified reference material. For referrers placing serious indictable briefs in Victoria where language capability or thoroughness of preparation is a selection criterion, his practice addresses both.
White collar crime, corporate crime, and regulatory investigations are the substantive focus of Howard Rapke's practice as a Partner and National Head of Disputes and Litigation at Holding Redlich. He brings more than 30 years of experience to matters at the intersection of commercial litigation and criminal enforcement, including ASIC investigations, foreign bribery prosecutions, anti-money laundering matters, and large-scale regulatory inquiries including Royal Commissions.
He is recognised by Doyle's Guide as a Leading Victorian Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer and as a Leading Australian White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations Lawyer. Best Lawyers lists him for Criminal Defence, Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from 2017 to 2026. Who's Who Legal recognises him as a global leader in Business Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery since 2019. He practises across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions.
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.
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