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.
Child exploitation material offences in Victoria and under Commonwealth law are among the most serious criminal charges in the Australian system, investigated by specialist police units and involving complex digital forensic evidence. 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 Melbourne specialist criminal defence firm he established in 1995. The Pre-eminent ranking in Doyle's Guide for Criminal Law Defence is his, alongside a Best Lawyers listing for Criminal Defence (2025). His practice is built around tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters.
His admission in 1991 and Accredited Criminal Law Specialist status since 1998 mark him as a practitioner with both the longevity and the formal accreditation that serious criminal defence demands. It has accumulated a record of more than 40,000 prosecutions defended. He has appeared before the High Court of Australia and has acted for clients at Royal Commission hearings. His domestic practice spans courts in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. His advisory work extends to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore.
The C.C.H. Legal Technology Award was won for Crimebase, a relational database he designed for criminal law practice. His national professional activities include founding membership of the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance and involvement in running the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference. He served for over a decade as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre. His matters have attracted reporting in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail. The matters he has handled span terrorism, foreign bribery, political corruption, Royal Commission representation, and institutional abuse.
As Partner and National Head of Disputes and Litigation at Holding Redlich, Howard Rapke brings more than 30 years of practice in white collar crime, fraud, foreign bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and ASIC and ACCC enforcement to the briefs he handles. Who's Who Legal has recognised him as a global leader in Business Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery since 2019. Doyle's Guide lists him as a Leading Victorian Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer and a Leading Australian White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations Lawyer. Best Lawyers lists him for Criminal Defence, Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution in its 2017 to 2026 editions.
His combination of major-firm infrastructure and independently verified peer recognition across three frameworks is the relevant credential for serious commercial criminal briefs in Victoria.
Specialist peer recognition in drink driving and traffic at the Doyle's Guide Leading level for 2025 defines Shaun Pascoe's practice. He is Partner and Director of Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law, the Victorian criminal defence boutique he heads under his own name.
He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor, heading his own boutique where matters are conducted by him directly. The specialist Doyle's recognition and direct boutique conduct together satisfy the primary selection criteria for referrers placing drink driving and traffic matters in Victoria.
David Barrese is Director of David Barrese & Associates, the Victorian criminal defence firm he heads under his own name. As Director of an independent practice, he conducts matters directly throughout each brief, with the named Director as the practitioner of record from first conference to resolution.
The independent boutique model removes any ambiguity about who handles the brief: it is Barrese, directly and throughout. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs where direct, continuous senior practitioner involvement is the primary requirement, the structure of his practice delivers that clearly.
Selection of counsel depends on the specific charge, the court and jurisdiction, the stage of proceedings, and the particular 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.
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