Type of practice: I presently practice in the following areas: 

• family law;
• intervention orders at Magistrates’ Court and County Court level (including appeals); 
• crimes compensation hearings including appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal against decisions of the Tribunal; 
• coronial inquests;
• guardianship and administration hearings;
• anti-discrimination and equal opportunity hearings both at the state and federal level; 
• unfair dismissals;
• administrative law (merits review and judicial review) at the VCAT;
• Children’s Court both in the care and protection jurisdiction and the criminal law jurisdiction; and appeals from the Children’s Court to the County Court;
• criminal law – both prosecuting and defence pleas and appeals in the Magistrates’ and County Court; 
• prosecuting on behalf of government departments in the Magistrates’ and County Court; 
• intervening on behalf of Centres Against Sexual Assaults in criminal proceedings. 

Examples of recent cases include: 

• acting for a complainant in a sexual harassment case against an employer in the Anti-discrimination List of the VCAT; 
• acting for CASA in a rape trial as an intervener seeking to have the victim’s counselling files suppressed; 
• acting as junior counsel for the defence in the Supreme Court (in the first electronically lodged appeal) in an appeal against a sentence received for drug trafficking; 
• acting in the Children’s Court for two girls who were alleged to have been neglected by their mother.

Professional background:

• Articles 1990, Freehill, Hollingdale and Page – litigation, industrial law and intellectual property sections
• Solicitor, Freehill, Hollingdale and Page 1991-1992 – litigation section 
• Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Vic) 1992-1994 – County Court general prosecutions section 
• Wisewoulds 1994-1995 – litigation section 
• Lecturer, Melbourne University Law School 1995 – taught Criminal Law, Contracts and Evidence 
• Reader Victorian Bar March 1996.  Mentor – Felicity Hampel QC.

Other professional experience:

• Tutor in Criminal Law, Trinity College 1992 
• Tutor in Legal Studies, Southern Cross University 1996 
• Guest Instructor in Practical Legal Education Course, Leo Cussen Institute, 1999 and continuing.
• Member of Feminist Lawyers (Convenor 1997) and Women Barristers’ Association 
• International Commission of Jurists (1990 -1993) 
• Women’ s Legal Resource Group (1990 -1993 ) 
• Member of List Committee for Barristers’ Clerk – Paul Holmes (1998,1999) 
• Civil Locum Lawyer – Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service (2000)

Publications and seminar participation: 1999 – Author of Materials on Custodial Medicine for the Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Medicine, Monash University  1998 – Speaker on Crimes Compensation – then and now for Warrnambool Legal Centre Justice Forum 1998 – Speaker on Appeals to the County Court at the Legal Aid Commission of Victoria  1995 – Author of Creating Maximum Difficulties – section 10 of the Sentencing Act 1991 after Boucher 900 (1995) 69 Law Institute Journal 1995 – Author of Young Offenders: Some Sentencing Considerations 897 (1995) 69 Law Institute Journal 1990 – Editor Girls Own Legal Resource Magazine for Girls (Women’s Legal Resource Group) (1990)