On this page:
Selection process
Lead Counsel can be chosen in consultation with solicitors, the Victorian Bar and the judiciary. They are approached directly by Victoria Legal Aid and agree to act as leaders.
Fees
Lead Counsel receive brief fees consistent with Table M in the VLA Handbook for lawyers. . However, Lead Counsel are also entitled to an additional three hours' conferencing fee to account for time spent in conference and additional discussion with Junior Counsel throughout the trial.
Lead Counsel
The Lead Counsel in the 2022–23 Trial Counsel Development Program are:
- Theo Alexander
- Karen Argiropolous
- Catherine Boston
- Amy Brennan
- Zoe Broughton
- Deanna Caruso
- Peter Chadwick KC
- Ruth Champion
- Georgina Coghlan KC
- Scott Collins
- Mark Dean KC
- Rhamin De Kretser
- Richard Edney
- Christopher Farrington
- James Fitzgerald
- Shaun Ginsbourg
- Nicholas Goodfellow
- Jason Gullaci
- Leighton Gwynn
- David Hallowes SC
- Ashley Halphen
- Justin Hannebery SC
- Barnaby Johnston
- Nadia Kaddeche
- Aggy Kapitaniak
- Theo Kassimatis SC
- Sarah Keating
- John Kelly SC
- Paul Kounnas
- Sharon Lacy
- Anthony Lewis
- Amit Malik
- Colin Mandy SC
- Tim Marsh
- Michael McGrath
- Julian McMahon SC
- Kelly McKay
- Zubin Menon
- Peter Morrissey SC
- Julia Munster
- Rishi Nathwani
- Moya O'Brien
- Alexander Patton
- Diana Price
- Daniel Sala
- Ruth Shann SC
- Naomi Smith
- Michael Stanton
- Jo Swiney
- Megan Tittensor SC
- Remy van de Wiel KC
- Andrew Waters
Disclaimer: The material in this print-out relates to the law as it applies in the state of Victoria. It is intended as a general guide only. Readers should not act on the basis of any material in this print-out without getting legal advice about their own particular situations. Victoria Legal Aid disclaims any liability howsoever caused to any person in respect of any action taken in reliance on the contents of the publication.
We help Victorians with their legal problems and represent those who need it most. Find legal answers, chat with us online, or call us. You can speak to us in English or ask for an interpreter. You can also find more legal information at www.legalaid.vic.gov.au
Reviewed 23 March 2023
In this section
-
- How we can help
- Help at court
- Help before court – for criminal charges
-
- Help in your language
- Amharic/አማርኛ
- Arabic / عربي
- Bosnian/Bosanski
- Burmese/ျမန္မ
- Chinese Traditional/繁體中文
- Croatian/Hrvatski
- Dari/دری
- Dinka/Thuɔŋjäŋ
- Easy English
- English
- Farsi/فارسی
- Filipino/Filipino
- Greek/Ελληνικά
- Hindi/हिंदी
- Italian/Italiano
- Khmer/ខ្មែរ
- Korean/한국어
- Macedonian/Македонски
- Malay/Bahasa Malaysia
- Nuer/Thok Nath
- Oromo/Oromoo
- Pashto/پښتو
- Polish/Polski
- Punjabi/ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
- Russian/Русский
- Serbian/Cрпски
- Sinhalese/සිංහල
- Somali/Soomali
- Spanish/Español
- Tamil/தமிழ்
- Thai/ภาษาไทย
- Tigrinya/ትግርኛ
- Turkish/Türkçe
- Ukrainian/Українська
- Urdu/اردو
- Vietnamese/Tiếng Việt
- Support if you are deaf or find it hard to hear or speak on the phone
- I need legal information about ...
- Legal issues we can't help with
- Partner firms we work with that provide legal aid
- My safety - options before and after relationship separation
-
- I need legal information about ...
- Arson, fires and fireworks
-
- COVID-19 coronavirus
- COVID-19 and fines
- COVID-19 and being unable to work
- COVID-19 and delaying starting your new job
- COVID-19 and discrimination at work
- COVID-19 and losing work
- COVID-19, mandatory vaccines and work
- COVID-19 and safety at work
- COVID-19, work and caring for others
- COVID-19 and working from home
- COVID-19 and protection visa reviews
- Other support
- Defamation
-
- Discrimination
- Discrimination and victimisation
- Racial vilification and acts of racial hatred
- Disability discrimination
- Disability discrimination and employment
- Pregnancy and parental discrimination at work
- Sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination
- Making a complaint about discrimination
- Remedies to a complaint about discrimination
- Other support
-
- Employment
- Difference between employees and contractors
- Employment contracts and conditions
- Minimum rates of pay and getting paid properly
- Giving notice to end employment
- Termination of employment
- Superannuation and complaints
- Workplace safety
- Workplace bullying and discrimination
- Speaking to your employer about discrimination
- Other support
-
- Going to court
-
- Going to court for a criminal charge
- Community corrections orders
- Going to court – pleading guilty
- Going to court – pleading not guilty
- Going to court – diversion
- Going to court – rehearings
- Possible outcomes for criminal offences
- Representing yourself in a criminal case
- Serious criminal charges
- Appealing a Magistrates' Court decision
- Going to court – writing a character reference
- Going to court – what I want to say in court
- Criminal records
- Demerit points
- Going to court to get a divorce
- Going to court as a witness
- Going to court for a sexual assault case
- Going to court to divide property
- How to behave in court
- Other support
- Guns and other weapons
- How to run a family law case
-
- Mental health and disability
- Mental health and your rights
- Having control over your treatment
- Rights of people receiving compulsory treatment
- Compulsory treatment orders
- Electroconvulsive treatment
- Going to the Mental Health Tribunal
- When police are called because of your mental health condition
- What happens at the police station if you have a cognitive disability
- Insurance discrimination – your rights if you have a mental health condition
- Other support
- Owning a dog
-
- Parenting arrangements, child contact and child support
-
- Parenting arrangements and child contact
- If you agree on parenting arrangements
- Parenting orders
- Applying for parenting orders
- Living with parenting arrangements
- Relocating or travelling with children
- What the court considers when making a parenting order
- Supervised time between parents and children
- Caring for children when you are not their parent
- Abduction
- Airport watch list order kit
- Recovery order kit
- Other support
- Sexual harassment
- The ban on Nazi symbols in Victoria
-
- Violence, abuse and personal safety
-
- Family violence intervention orders
- Applying for a family violence intervention order
- Evidence to support your application
- Before an applicant goes to the court hearing
- If an application has been made against you
- Family violence intervention orders to protect children
- When a family violence intervention order starts
- Conditions in a family violence intervention order
- Breaking an intervention order
- Changing a family violence intervention order
- What the police do about family violence
- Child protection
- Violent behaviour
- Commonwealth Family Violence and Cross-Examination of Parties Scheme
- Other support
-
- Videos about the law
- Australia's legal system
- Buying a car
- Car accidents - what's the law?
- Centrelink debts – what's the law?
- Child protection and parenting – what's the law?
- Consumer issues – what's the law?
- Dealing with door-to-door sales – videos
- Discrimination – what's the law?
- Driving – what's the law?
- Employment – what's the law?
- Fines – what's the law?
- Police and my legal rights – what's the law?
- Rental agreements – what's the law?
- Separation and parenting arrangements – what's the law?
- The unexpected side-effect of pregnancy: discrimination
-
- About us
-
- Our organisation
- Acknowledgement of Country
- Child Safe Standards
- Disability action plan
- How we treat victims of crime – our commitment to the Victims’ charter
- Our Board
- Our vision, purpose and values
- Senior leadership
- What legal and community leaders say about legal aid
-
- How we are improving our services
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Learning Strategy
- Aboriginal Services Strategy 2020–25
- Better justice, every day
- Chambers review
- Child Protection Legal Aid Services Review
- Client-first strategy
- Client Priority and Capability Policy
- Community Legal Services Program Reform Project
- County Court Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court Pilot
- Criminal Appeals Review
- The Data Discovery Tool
-
- Delivering high quality criminal trials
- Action 2: retain instructing lawyers in trials
- Action 1: establish a preferred trial counsel list
- Action 3: introduce new quality tools
- Action 4: introduce brief analysis and case strategy fee
- Action 1: establish a preferred trial counsel list
- Action 2: retain instructing lawyers in trials
- Digital Legal Aid
- Education Strategy project
- Equitable briefing strategy
- Flexible Forum Test guideline
- Summary crime evaluation
-
- What we do
- Who is eligible for help
- Early Resolution Service for family violence matters
- Family Advocacy and Support Services
- Independent Family Advocacy and Support
- Independent Mental Health Advocacy
- Victims Legal Service
- Specialist sexual harassment and discrimination law services
- Access and equity
- Civil justice
- Chambers
- Criminal law
- Family law
- What to expect from our services
- Managing the quality of our services
-
- For lawyers
-
- Doing legal aid work
- Briefing Victoria Legal Aid Chambers
-
- Duty lawyer services
- Accreditation guidelines for duty lawyers
- Private practitioner duty lawyers' responsibilities
- Payments and records management for private practitioner duty lawyers
- Payments and records management for Children’s Court Family Division
- Duty lawyers in the Family Division of the Children's Court (child protection matters)
- Duty lawyers at court for criminal charges
- Co-ordinators and reporting offices for duty lawyers
- Private practitioner duty lawyer scheme to deal with conflicts
- Duty Lawyer Guidelines for personal safety intervention orders
- Private Practitioner Short Service Scheme Contracts
- Invoicing for legal aid work by barristers
- Legal assistance for the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants
- Seeking and recovering costs in legal aid matters
- The mixed model of service delivery
- Log in to Atlas
- Grants enquiries
-
- Practice resources
- Access to LawHub
- Accredited Specialisation
- Civil law resources
-
- Mental health law
- Introduction to the Mental Health Act 2014
- Assessment and treatment orders
-
- Mental health law practice guide for lawyers
- How to use this guide
- About the Mental Health Act
-
- Compulsory treatment and assessment orders
- Assessment orders
- Temporary treatment orders
- Treatment orders
- Varying the type of order
- Treatment that can be given on a (temporary) treatment order
- Challenging a (temporary) treatment order
- Apprehension and transport to a designated mental health service
- Jurisdictional issues and validity of orders
-
- Treatment criteria: compulsory treatment
- Section 5(a): the person ‘has mental illness’
- Section 5(b): the person needs immediate treatment to prevent serious consequences
- Section 5(c): immediate treatment will be provided if the person is subject to a compulsory treatment order
- Section 5(d): no less restrictive means are reasonably available to receive immediate treatment
- Hearings at the tribunal – listing and procedures
-
- Preparing for and appearing at a hearing
- What happens at a Mental Health Tribunal hearing
- Who can attend the hearing
- Preparing your case and legal submissions
- Evidence at a hearing
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients
- Culturally and linguistically diverse clients
- Using the Victorian Charter of Rights and Responsibilities
- Rights of people receiving treatment for mental illness
- Fact sheets for clients
- Changes to our services due to COVID-19
- Handbook for lawyers
- Improving our services
- Law reform
- Staff only