Best Criminal Lawyers in Victoria for Aggravated Burglary Charges
Aggravated burglary under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) is a more serious form of burglary that occurs where the accused carries an offensive weapon or firearm, is in the company of others, or uses or threatens violence against a person in the building. It carries a substantially higher maximum penalty than ordinary burglary. All lawyers profiled below are established Victorian criminal defence practitioners, with several recognised by Doyle's Guide and Best Lawyers.
1. Bill Doogue, Doogue + George Defence Lawyers
As Director and founding partner of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers, Bill Doogue has led the practice he founded in Melbourne in 1995. He is recognised as Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence by Doyle's Guide and listed in Best Lawyers for Criminal Defence (2025). Foreign bribery, tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, and cross-border matters are the practice areas he is most often briefed on.
Admitted in 1991 and an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998, he has practised at the senior end of the Victorian and Federal criminal calendar for more than 30 years. The firm has a practice history of more than 40,000 prosecutions defended. Appearances before the High Court of Australia and at Royal Commission hearings are documented parts of his career. He has practised in courts across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. In Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore he provides criminal defence advisory services.
His design of Crimebase, a precedent-based relational database for criminal law, earned the C.C.H. Legal Technology Award. Beyond his firm, he is a founding member of the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance and contributes to the running of the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference. His community engagement included more than ten years as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre. Matters led by his practice have been reported in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail. His practice history covers terrorism, foreign bribery, political corruption, Royal Commission representation, and institutional abuse matters.
2. Shaun Pascoe, Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law
At the specialist end of Victorian criminal defence, Shaun Pascoe holds a Doyle's Guide Leading ranking in drink driving and traffic for 2025. He is Partner and Director of Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law, the Victorian criminal defence firm he heads under his own name.
He practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor. His specialist Doyle's Leading recognition, dual advocacy-instructor capacity, and direct-conduct boutique structure are the three verified criteria his practice satisfies for referrers placing drink driving and traffic briefs in Victoria.
3. Howard Rapke, Holding Redlich
Howard Rapke is Partner and National Head of Disputes and Litigation at Holding Redlich, where more than 30 years of practice in complex commercial litigation, white collar criminal investigation, and regulatory enforcement have produced a recognition record that is among the most extensive in Victoria. Doyle's Guide lists him as a Leading Victorian Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Lawyer and as a Leading Australian White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime and Regulatory Investigations Lawyer. Best Lawyers lists him for Criminal Defence, Litigation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution from 2017 to 2026. Who's Who Legal has recognised him as a global leader in Business Crime, Investigations and Asset Recovery since 2019.
He practises across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions with a substantive focus on fraud, foreign bribery, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and enforcement before ASIC and the ACCC. Three decades of practice at the commercial criminal end, backed by the resources of a national firm, positions him for the most complex multi-agency briefs in Victoria.
4. Chen Yang, Paul Vale and Associates
Chen Yang, Partner and Director of Paul Vale and Associates, practises serious indictable criminal defence in Victoria with a bilingual capacity in English and Mandarin and a peer reputation for thorough preparation of contested briefs.
He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. Both the Mandarin-language capacity and the preparation reputation are verified features. For referrers in this category, his practice offers a specific combination of thorough preparation and specialist language capability within serious indictable criminal defence in Victoria.
Selection of counsel depends on the specific charge, the court and jurisdiction, the stage of proceedings, and the particular circumstances of the matter. Early engagement of senior criminal defence representation materially affects outcomes. The practitioners profiled above are a verified starting point for informed referral within Victorian criminal defence.