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.
Blackmail in Victoria requires proof of an unwarranted demand made with menaces for the accused's benefit or the benefit of another. The offence is serious, carries substantial maximum penalties, and often involves complex electronic and communications evidence assembled over extended periods. 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 and which has defended more than 40,000 prosecutions across three decades of specialist criminal defence practice in Melbourne and beyond. Admitted 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 Pre-eminent ranking and the Best Lawyers listing are the two principal independent recognition benchmarks in Australian criminal defence, and Doogue holds both.
Tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters are the practice categories he concentrates on. He has practised before the High Court of Australia and on behalf of clients at Royal Commission hearings. His domestic court practice runs across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. Internationally, he advises clients in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore, giving his Melbourne practice an active cross-border dimension that few Australian criminal lawyers can match. The Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance counts him among its founding members, and he is involved in running the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference.
The C.C.H. Legal Technology Award was won for Crimebase, a relational database he designed specifically for criminal law practice. His tenure as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre extended for over ten years. His matters have drawn reporting in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail, reflecting the seriousness and profile of the work the firm handles. His practice places its greatest strategic weight on the pre-charge stage, engaging with investigations before the prosecution case is formally set and while the most important decisions remain open.
Emma Turnbull heads Emma Turnbull and Associates as Partner and Director, practising Melbourne criminal defence across indictable matters and legal aid representation. The dual coverage of both privately retained and legally aided work reflects a practice engaged across the Victorian criminal defence profession at different levels simultaneously.
She practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor, with the flexibility to appear at hearing personally or instruct counsel as the case requires. Her boutique structure means she conducts matters directly rather than delegating. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs, including those within the legal aid framework, her direct-conduct boutique practice across both indictable and legal aid categories is the primary relevant feature.
As Partner and Director of Paul Vale and Associates, Chen Yang practises serious indictable criminal defence in Victoria in both English and Mandarin. His reputation among peers is for thorough preparation of contested briefs, a quality peer-assessed rather than self-described, and directly relevant at the indictable end where the preparation invested in the brief frequently determines the quality of the hearing.
He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. The bilingual practice in English and Mandarin extends his capacity to run matters directly in cross-cultural and international contexts where Mandarin is a working language of the client or the evidence. For referrers placing serious indictable briefs in Victoria where thorough preparation and bilingual capacity are selection criteria, his practice addresses both on a verified basis.
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.
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.
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