Real People
Real Results

A person in a trusted management role had embezzled funds from their employer over a sustained period. The breach of trust was a significant sentencing factor. What the court also heard was the full picture: genuine remorse, a commitment to repaying the amount taken, and a career that had otherwise been without incident. The outcome was a sentence served in the community rather than imprisonment.

A woman was charged with multiple theft offences after taking small amounts of leftover prescription medication from her workplace. She had a diagnosed opiate use disorder and severe mental illness, and had been self-medicating to get through the working day. Police prosecuted it as criminal theft. We argued it should be dealt with under mental health legislation instead. Despite strong opposition from prosecution, the court agreed: all charges were dismissed, on the condition she continue her treatment.

A client with a personal drug dependency had been drawn peripherally into a larger supply operation and also faced a charge of hindering police. The dependency had a documented origin in trauma. By clearly separating our client’s limited role from the wider scheme and centring the evidence on the dependency and rehabilitation steps taken, we secured a community-based sentence.

A client with a long professional history in a caring role had developed a serious drug dependency rooted in documented personal trauma. The charges, drug supply, dealing with proceeds of crime and possession of stolen goods, reflected how far that dependency had taken hold. We traced the connection between the trauma and the offending for the court and secured a community-based outcome rather than full-time imprisonment.

A 19-year-old with no prior criminal record was charged with dangerous driving and failing to stop for police. An underlying medical condition was relevant to understanding the circumstances of the offending. We put the full picture before the court: the client’s age, the medical context, the absence of any prior history and genuine remorse. The result was a community correction order, not imprisonment.

A client with no criminal history was charged with mid-range drink driving after recording a blood alcohol level of 0.098. We presented the isolated nature of the incident and our client’s otherwise clean record, and secured a fine and licence disqualification without any custodial penalty.

A client was facing both a domestic violence assault charge and two prohibited weapon possession charges. The weapons were found during a police search unrelated to the assault matter. We addressed each charge on its own facts and circumstances. Both resolved without any conviction being recorded.

A man stepped in to defend a family member during a brawl on a night out. He ended up facing affray and cocaine possession charges. The affray charge alone carries up to 10 years imprisonment. He had no prior criminal record and a stable work history. We presented that picture to the court and secured a community-based penalty on the affray charge, with the drug possession charge dismissed entirely and no conviction recorded.

A client received an automatic licence suspension after a speed camera detected them travelling at an extreme speed. We appealed the suspension and argued successfully for a reduction in the disqualification period. Our client’s licence was restored earlier than the automatic penalty would have allowed.

A client had been sentenced to full-time custody following a significant fraud matter involving 28 counts. By the time of the appeal, there was substantial rehabilitation evidence: programs completed, genuine insight demonstrated and documented change. We argued the original sentence did not adequately reflect that progress. The appeal court reduced the sentence.

A young provisional licence holder was involved in a single-vehicle rollover while driving with a low-range blood alcohol reading. No one else was injured. We presented the client’s age, clean driving history and the isolated nature of the incident, securing fines and a licence disqualification without a harsher outcome.

A long-serving employee with a clean record pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining funds from a Commonwealth entity. The charge carries the additional weight of a breach of public trust. We put our client’s full history before the court, the isolated nature of the conduct and the low risk of reoffending, and secured a sentence served in the community.

A client was charged with administering an intoxicating substance to another person without their knowledge. The charge carries significant custodial risk. We gathered evidence of genuine remorse and voluntary psychological treatment, and put a clear case that the conduct was not predatory in nature. The court sentenced our client to supervision, community service and counselling rather than imprisonment.

A client had fraudulently obtained government relief funds deposited into her account without being the person who sought them. The original charges framed the matter as fraud. We negotiated the charges down to reckless dealing with proceeds of crime, which more accurately reflected her actual involvement, and secured a community-based sentence.

A client was charged with preventing a witness from attending judicial proceedings, an offence taken seriously because of its effect on the integrity of other legal matters. We put our client’s personal circumstances fully before the court and argued the conduct was not part of a deliberate campaign to obstruct justice. The court sentenced our client to a community-based order.

A young client pleaded guilty to common assault following an incident in which they believed they were responding to a threat that turned out to be directed at someone else. The mistaken identity context was central. Given the client’s age, clean record and the specific circumstances, we secured a good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded.

A client was found guilty on all nine counts after a two-day contested hearing covering identity misuse and intimidation offences. We refocused on what sentencing required: genuine rehabilitation evidence, a full personal history and strong submissions about specific deterrence. The result was a community-based order rather than imprisonment.

A client pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a single, out-of-character incident. The court described the assault in serious terms. We focused on our client’s full personal history, the early guilty plea and the genuine acceptance of responsibility, and argued that imprisonment was not warranted. The outcome was a community correction order and fine.

A client was found guilty of a sexual offence and obscene exposure in a public place after a contested hearing. We shifted focus to the sentencing stage and put a thorough picture of the client’s circumstances before the court, making specific submissions about why full-time custody was not required. The result was a community-based order.

A client with a diagnosed alcohol use disorder was charged with high-range drink driving and driving while suspended. The diagnosis was central to our case. Medical evidence explaining the dependency and its role in the offending was placed before the court alongside evidence of active treatment engagement. Despite the court’s concern about the risk of reoffending, the result was a community correction order, not a custodial sentence.

A client was charged with using a carriage service to offend after posts online were flagged by a keyword monitoring system. The case turned on context. At the contested hearing, we argued the communications fell outside the definition of the offence. The court agreed, found the charge not proven and no conviction was recorded.

A client appealed both the conviction and the sentence following a domestic violence assault matter. The conviction was upheld. On the sentence, we argued the penalty imposed was disproportionate to the offending. The appeal court agreed and reduced the sentence.

A client faced 13 counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception after using another person’s bank details without authorisation. The offending crossed the threshold that ordinarily attracts a custodial sentence. What changed the outcome was what came after: our client took on additional work specifically to repay every dollar owed, and a risk assessment returned a low likelihood of reoffending. The court sentenced her to an intensive correction order with unpaid work, served in the community.

A young client was involved in a brief altercation with police following a street confrontation. There was no injury, no history of violence and no prior record of any kind. We presented the circumstances, the clean record and genuine remorse, and secured a good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded.

A young client with no criminal history was charged with supplying a small quantity of a prohibited drug in an unplanned, one-off incident connected to self-medication for an undiagnosed mental health condition. We put the full context before the court: no commercial motive, underlying mental health issues and the isolated nature of the conduct. No conviction was recorded.

A client was in custody facing serious charges while police actively opposed bail. We prepared a structured bail application that addressed each specific risk the prosecution raised. The court was satisfied the risks could be managed with appropriate conditions, and bail was granted.

A client was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault in relation to a family member. We challenged the prosecution’s evidence at a contested hearing. The prosecution could not prove the case to the required standard, and the court dismissed both charges.

A client with no prior history of violence pleaded guilty to a single, isolated domestic violence assault. Police opposed a non-custodial outcome. By presenting strong character evidence, an early guilty plea and genuine remorse, we secured a community correction order. A contested hearing that went badly would very likely have led to imprisonment.

A client pleaded guilty to assaulting a family member, causing actual bodily harm. The early guilty plea and genuine acknowledgment of responsibility were the foundations of the sentencing case. We built on those factors and secured a community correction order without imprisonment.

A client was charged with supplying cannabis after a quantity was found in their possession. We ran a contested hearing, arguing the quantity and circumstances were consistent with personal use rather than supply. The court accepted that explanation. The charge was dismissed.

A client with no criminal record reacted impulsively when police arrested a family member at a distressing scene. The resulting charges were assaulting police, resisting arrest and offensive conduct. We put the full context before the court: the specific circumstances of that night, our client’s otherwise clean history and the clear absence of any pattern of conduct. The outcome was a good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded.

A client had received a nine-month intensive corrections order following a fatal accident and wanted to challenge the sentence. We appealed on the basis that the offending had not crossed the threshold requiring a prison-equivalent penalty. The appeal court agreed, accepted our client’s genuine remorse and contrition, and downgraded the sentence to an 18-month community corrections order with community service.

A client was charged with a domestic violence intimidation offence. The key fact was a diagnosed cognitive and developmental condition that had gone largely unaddressed throughout the client’s life. We argued successfully that the matter should be diverted under mental health legislation rather than proceed as a criminal charge. All charges were dismissed, with the client directed toward appropriate support services.

A licensed professional was drawn into someone else’s fraud scheme and falsified documents on three occasions in a peripheral role. They were not the architect of the scheme and had no prior history of dishonest conduct. By making clear the secondary nature of our client’s involvement and the circumstances that led to it, we secured a sentence served in the community.

A business owner was prosecuted for operating without the required licence. He had genuinely misunderstood the licensing requirements and had no intent to deceive anyone. The real problem a conviction would create was a lasting one: it would make it permanently harder for him to obtain the licence he needed in future. We argued the disproportionate long-term impact made no conviction the appropriate outcome, and the court agreed.

A client pleaded guilty to a serious wounding charge carrying a maximum of 25 years imprisonment. What happened after the offending mattered. We assembled substantial evidence of genuine rehabilitation: completed programs, psychological reports and a documented commitment to addressing the underlying causes. The court sentenced our client to a community-based order, accepting that the rehabilitation evidence was sufficient to displace the presumption toward full-time custody.

A young person with no criminal history pleaded guilty to affray after a brawl that had been started by the other party. The charge carries penalties up to 10 years imprisonment. We presented the circumstances of provocation, the clean record and genuine remorse, and secured a good behaviour bond with no conviction recorded, preserving our client’s future employment and travel prospects.

A client faced a blood alcohol reading of 0.203 and a presumptive jail term. We built the sentencing case around rehabilitation steps taken before coming to court: completed programs, support structures in place and a clear, documented acknowledgment of the risk the conduct had created. The jail term was suspended, allowing our client to serve the sentence in the community.

A client was charged with two counts of drug supply, possessing a prohibited weapon and dealing with proceeds of crime after a police raid. The combination of charges pointed strongly toward full-time custody. The key argument was our client’s limited role in the offending and the genuine, sustained steps taken since: maintained employment, ceased drug use, ongoing engagement with support. The court sentenced him to an intensive corrections order with a fine and counselling.

A young provisional licence holder was detected with a blood alcohol reading while driving with passengers. Under the zero-alcohol requirement for P-platers, any reading is a breach. We presented the client’s age, the isolated nature of the offending and the significant impact a custodial outcome would have on their future. The jail term was suspended.

A client was charged with intimidation after a dispute escalated and police were called. An undiagnosed mental illness had gone unrecognised until the charges were laid. We put psychological evidence before the court that connected the illness directly to the conduct. The result was a short conditional release order with no conviction recorded.

A young person was found with a prohibited substance during a routine search. There was no supply, no prior history and no pattern of conduct. We secured a community-based order, keeping the matter from becoming a conviction that would follow our client into future employment and travel.

A client recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.176, more than three times the legal limit, after an unplanned short drive. He had no prior offending of any kind. We argued the incident was entirely out of character and isolated, and secured a fine, licence disqualification and interlock condition rather than a custodial penalty.

A client faced a charge of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm following an accident in which surgery was required. We ran a contested hearing, challenging whether the injuries legally qualified as grievous bodily harm and whether the driving met the threshold for negligence. The court found our client guilty, but our advocacy at the sentencing stage secured a community-based order rather than a custodial sentence.

Two clients were jointly charged with affray following a single incident. We represented both, coordinating their cases to present the circumstances consistently while ensuring each person’s individual position was clearly before the court. Both received community-based penalties rather than custodial sentences.

A young client with diagnosed mental health conditions was charged with low-range drink driving, leaving the scene of an accident, assaulting police and resisting arrest, all arising from the same incident. No one was physically injured. We addressed the mental health context in our submissions. The outcome was fines and community orders, without any custodial component.

A client had entered a guilty plea early in a negligent driving occasioning death matter, but the original sentence had not properly credited the guilty plea discount the law required. We appealed on that basis. The appeal succeeded: the court applied the correct discount, reduced the sentence materially and acknowledged the early acceptance of responsibility.

A client subject to reporting obligations under the Child Protection Offenders Register failed to meet those obligations on a specific occasion. The charge is treated seriously given the purpose of the register. We put the client’s broader compliance history and the specific circumstances of the breach before the court, and secured a community-based sentence.

A client in a position of trust had defrauded an organisation, and the mental health diversion application we ran was ultimately refused. The sentencing outcome was still not inevitable. We had secured full restitution of the funds taken and put together strong evidence of genuine change since the offending. The court responded with a good behaviour bond rather than imprisonment.