Briefing Victoria Legal Aid Chambers

Our Chambers advocates provide high-quality representation for clients with a grant of legal assistance in criminal law, civil law, child protection and family law. They appear in all Victorian courts and tribunals, the Federal Court, the Family Court and the High Court of Australia.

Chambers advocates can be briefed to appear for clients by Victoria Legal Aid lawyers and private practitioners on our panels.

To engage the services of our advocates, contact Victoria Legal Aid Chambers on:

• phone – (03) 9269 0300
• email – advocates_clerk@vla.vic.gov.au

Chief Counsel

Julia Munster

Admitted to the legal profession: 1993

Available to be briefed in:

• Supreme and County Court trials, pleas, appeals and bail applications
• Court of Appeal
• Judicial Review proceedings
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals
• complex Children's Court matters (criminal division).

Professional memberships and accreditation:

• accredited criminal law specialist.
• Senior public defenders

Amy Brennan

Admitted to the legal profession: 2005

Signed Victorian Bar Roll: 2008

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals and bail applications
• Supreme Court pleas and bail applications
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals
• appear as junior in Supreme Court trials
• complex Children's Court matters (criminal division).
• Professional memberships and accreditation:
• Equality and Diversity Committee, Victorian Bar
• French Australian Lawyers Society.

Other information:

• Author of Criminal Law chapter in Droit de l’Aust – a French publication on the laws of Australia.

Andrew Waters

Admitted to the legal profession:1996

Signed Victorian Bar Roll: 2001

Available to be briefed in:

• Supreme Court and County Court trials, pleas, appeals and bail applications
• Court of Appeal
• Judicial Review proceedings
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals
• complex Children’s Court matters (Criminal Division).

David Gibson

Admitted to the legal profession: 1985

Signed Victorian Bar Roll: 2009

Available to be briefed in:

• Court of Appeal
• Judicial Review proceedings
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals
• Supreme Court and County Court trials, pleas, appeals and bail applications
• complex Children’s Court matters (Criminal Division).

Other information:

• member of the Child Witness Service Advisory Board, which provides advice and guidance to the Child Witness Service that supports child witnesses in the criminal justice system.

Naomi Smith

Admitted to the Legal Profession: 2004

Signed Victorian Bar Roll: 2008

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals and bail applications
• Supreme Court pleas and bail applications
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals
• appear as junior in Supreme Court trials
• complex Children's Court matters (criminal division).

Other information:

• accredited criminal law specialist
• accredited advocacy instructor with the Australian Advocacy Institute
• instructor with the Leo Cussen Centre for Law.

Zoe Broughton

Admitted to the Legal Profession: 2006

Signed Victorian Bar Roll: 2009

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals and bail applications
• Supreme Court pleas and bail applications
• Court of Appeal
• judicial review
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals
• and to appear as junior in Supreme Court trials.
• Professional memberships and accreditation:
• accredited criminal law specialist
• accredited advocacy instructor with the Australian Advocacy Institute
• instructor with the Leo Cussen Centre for Law.

Public defenders

Danielle Lamovie

Admitted to the legal profession: 1993

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals and bail applications
• Supreme Court pleas and bail applications
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals
• appear as junior in Supreme Court trials
• complex Children's Court matters (criminal division).
• Professional memberships and accreditation:
• accredited criminal law specialist.

Angie Wong

Admitted to the legal profession: 2010

Year signed the Bar Roll: 2013

Areas to be briefed in:

• County Court pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• Supreme Court bail applications
• County Court trials (as junior)
• complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contests, pleas, bail applications
• matters under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997
• complex Children’s Court matters (Criminal Division)
• judicial review and administrative law
• social security
• mental health.

Other information:

• Angie joined Chambers in 2018 from the Bar, where she practised in criminal and civil law. She previously worked as a civil solicitor at Victoria Legal Aid and prior to that as a criminal solicitor at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency.

Darcy Dempsey (On Leave)

Admitted to the legal profession: 2007

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• Supreme Court bail applications
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contests, pleas, bail applications
• contested committals
• complex Children’s Court matters (Criminal Division).

Erin Ramsay (On Leave)

Admitted to the legal profession: 2006

Signed the Bar Roll: 2009

Areas available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• Court of Appeal
• Judicial review proceedings
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• contested committals.
• Recent research and publication:
• Crime and Defence (a Foley’s List publication) – contributing author

Gabriel Chipkin

Admitted to the legal profession: 2011

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• County Court CSO/NCSO matters, SSO Supervision Orders
• Supreme Court pleas, as junior in Supreme Court trials
• Supreme Court CSO/NCSO matters
• Court of Appeal matters
• Complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contested hearings, pleas, bail applications
• Complex Children's Court matters (criminal division).

Other information:

• Gabriel joined chambers in 2021 from the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency where he was employed as a Trial Advocate (Senior Lawyer) based in Darwin. In that role he regularly appeared unled in complex criminal litigation in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory including jury trials and mental impairment & fitness proceedings. Prior to NAAJA, Gabriel worked as a criminal lawyer (indictable) for the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW) in Sydney. He began his career in 2011 as a graduate solicitor at commercial law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

Jarrod Van Ark adie (On Leave)

Admitted to the legal profession: 2013

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• Supreme Court bail applications
• Court of Appeal
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contested hearings, pleas, bail applications
• complex Children's Court matters (Criminal Division).

Michael Reardon

Admitted to the legal profession: 2011

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contests, pleas, bail applications
• complex Children's Court matters (Criminal Division).

Zubin Menon

Admitted to the legal profession: 2009

Signed the Bar Roll: 2013

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• Supreme Court bail applications
• Court of Appeal
• matters involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contested hearings, pleas, bail applications
• complex Children's Court matters (Criminal Division).
• Coronial inquests
• Judicial review and administrative law

Other information:

• Cultural Diversity Working Group at the Victorian Bar (2019 - Feb 2021)
• Co-chair, Student Engagement Committee of the Victorian Bar (2019 – Feb 2021)
• Criminal Bar Association member (since 2013)Admitted to the legal profession: 2011

Associate public defenders

Glenn Cooper

Admitted to the legal profession: 2015

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court trials, pleas, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contested hearings, pleas, bail applications
• complex Children's Court matters (criminal division)
• Serious Offenders Act applications and breach proceedings

Other information:

• accredited criminal law specialist

Hannah Canham

Admitted to the legal profession: 2012

Available to be briefed in:

• County Court pleas, Junior in trials, appeals, breach proceedings and bail applications
• SSO Supervision Orders
• Judicial Review, Administrative law, Equality law & Migration matters
• Supreme Court bail applications
• Court of Appeal matters
• High Court Appeals
• Complex Magistrates’ Court matters – contested committals, contested hearings, pleas, bail applications
• Complex Children's Court matters (criminal division).

Other information:

• Before joining Chambers, Hannah was a Senior Lawyer in the Appeals and Strategic Litigation team at Victoria Legal Aid. Hannah was previously an Associate to Justice Gageler at the High Court of Australia and to Justice White at the Federal Court of Australia. She holds an LLM from Columbia University.

Matthew Strong

Admitted to the legal profession: 2006

Available to be briefed in:

• independent children's lawyer trials and hearings
• Family Court and Federal Circuit Court of Australia trials, interim and final hearings, contraventions and mentions
• Children's Court matters (Family Division) – interim and final hearings, conciliation conferences
• contested intervention violence orders
• Family Dispute Resolution Service conferences.

Other information:

• Matthew joined VLA Chambers in 2015 from the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in Darwin practising as a senior solicitor/advocate in family law and child protection.

Associate In-house Counsel, Family Law

Gorica Care

Admitted to the Legal Profession: 2009

Available to be briefed in:

• Independent Children's Lawyer interim, mentions and directions hearings
• Family and Federal Circuit Court of Australia interim hearings, contraventions and mentions
• Children's Court matters (Family Division) – interim hearings, conciliation conferences, mentions
• contested intervention violence orders
• Family Dispute Resolution Service conferences

Public Defender, Civil

Eric Myles

Admitted to the Legal Profession: 2013

Available to be briefed in:

• Federal Circuit Court of Australia trials, interim and final hearings, contraventions and mentions
• Children's Court matters (Family Division) – interim hearings, conciliation conferences, mentions
• contested intervention violence orders
• Family Dispute Resolution Service conferences
• VCAT case planning decision review matters

Sheeana Dhanji (On Secondment)

Admitted to legal profession: 2010

Available to be briefed in:

• reviews and applications involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• VCAT – residential tenancies, review and regulation, and guardianship and administration lists
• Commonwealth entitlements
• judicial review and administrative law
• mental health
• infringements
• suppression orders.

Other information:

• Sheeana joined VLA Chambers from the County Court of Victoria, where she was the Senior Researcher to the Civil Division’s Judges. She advised on matters of policy, procedure, risk, and substantive law in commercial, common law, and criminal applications and trials. Prior to that, she practised as a commercial litigator.

Olivia Ridley

Available to be briefed in:

• reviews and applications involving the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 and Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009
• VCAT – residential tenancies, review and regulation, and guardianship and administration lists
• Commonwealth entitlements
• judicial review and administrative law
• migration
• mental health
• infringements