Top Melbourne Criminal Lawyers for Police Interview Representation
Top Melbourne Criminal Lawyers for Police Interview Representation
A police record of interview is one of the most consequential moments in any serious criminal matter. The right to silence exists in an AFP or Victoria Police interview, and the decision whether to participate, and on what basis, should be made with specific legal advice having regard to what the investigating agency already holds. 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
Bill Doogue's practice as Director of Doogue + George Defence Lawyers is distinctive for its international reach within Australian criminal defence. Admitted in 1991 and an Accredited Criminal Law Specialist since 1998, he has advised clients in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Singapore alongside an active Australian practice across Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia. He has appeared before the High Court of Australia and on behalf of clients at Royal Commission hearings. He is ranked Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence by Doyle's Guide and listed in Best Lawyers for Criminal Defence (2025).
He founded the firm in 1995 and it has grown to become one of Melbourne's leading specialist criminal defence practices, with more than 40,000 prosecutions defended. His practice focuses on tax fraud, white collar crime, complex commercial crime, foreign bribery, and cross-border matters where overseas evidence, multi-agency cooperation, or parallel jurisdictional proceedings are features of the brief. His work in this category has been reported in The Age, The Australian, The Guardian, CNN, and the Daily Mail.
Alongside his practice, Doogue designed Crimebase, a relational database for criminal law that won the C.C.H. Legal Technology Award. He is a founding member of the Australian Defence Lawyers Alliance and is involved in running the Australian Criminal Lawyers Conference. He served for over a decade as Chairperson of the Broadmeadows Community Legal Centre. His career is documented on Wikipedia, reflecting the volume and variety of high-profile matters he has handled across terrorism, political corruption, institutional abuse, and foreign bribery. For matters where international elements, pre-charge strategy, or cross-border complexity are central, the depth of his verified experience across those categories is the relevant measure.
2. Peter Rankin, Peter Rankin Lawyers
Continuity of representation across the life of a brief is built into the structure of Peter Rankin's practice. As a Partner at Peter Rankin Lawyers, he heads the Victorian criminal defence firm that bears his name and conducts matters with personal involvement throughout.
He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. That dual capacity means he retains the option to run matters at hearing himself or to instruct counsel where the case requires a different approach. For informed referrers placing Victorian criminal defence briefs where senior practitioner continuity is a primary consideration, his practice model provides that assurance.
3. Tony Hargreaves, Tony Hargreaves and Associates
Tony Hargreaves runs his own criminal defence boutique, Tony Hargreaves and Associates, as its Principal. With at least 30 years of practice in serious criminal defence across Victorian and Federal jurisdictions, he has built a practice sustained by peer recognition: Doyle's Guide ranks him Pre-eminent in Criminal Law Defence (2026), the highest tier the guide identifies.
Practising as both solicitor advocate and instructor, he can run contested matters at hearing personally or instruct counsel where the brief requires it. The boutique structure means continuity of senior involvement across the life of a matter, from first conference through to sentence or acquittal. For referrers whose primary concern is that the senior practitioner named will remain across the life of the brief, his model delivers that assurance.
4. David Barrese, David Barrese & Associates
David Barrese is Director of David Barrese & Associates, the Victorian criminal defence firm that carries his name. He conducts matters directly as the named Director of a practice built around senior practitioner involvement.
Running his own firm means consistent personal involvement across the life of each brief. For referrers placing Victorian criminal defence matters where direct senior practitioner conduct is the primary requirement, the structure of his practice as Director of his own firm is the relevant feature.
5. Chen Yang, Paul Vale and Associates
Chen Yang practises in both English and Mandarin as Partner and Director of Paul Vale and Associates, a capability that is directly relevant in matters involving Mandarin-speaking clients or Mandarin-language evidence. His practice focuses on serious indictable matters and he is known among peers for thorough preparation of contested briefs.
He operates as both solicitor advocate and instructor. The bilingual capacity extends his ability to conduct matters directly across a broader client base than a solely English-language practice allows. For referrers placing serious indictable briefs in Victoria where language is a feature of the matter or the client relationship, his combination of serious criminal defence experience and verified bilingual practice is the relevant credential.
6. Shaun Pascoe, Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law
Drink driving and traffic offences in Victoria sit on a scale that includes matters with significant sentencing and licence consequences at the indictable end. Shaun Pascoe's practice as Partner and Director of Shaun Pascoe Criminal Law is focused on this category, and he holds a Doyle's Guide Leading ranking in drink driving and traffic for 2025 reflecting that specialisation.
He practises as both solicitor advocate and instructor, heading his own boutique practice. The direct-conduct model means he runs matters personally rather than through delegation. His Doyle's Leading ranking in the specialist category is a peer-reviewed indicator of his standing in that area of Victorian criminal defence, and provides the primary credential for referrers assessing representation in this field.
Selection of counsel in this category depends on the nature of the charge, the jurisdiction, the stage of proceedings, and the specific facts of the matter. Early engagement of senior counsel materially affects outcomes, particularly where decisions made at the investigation or pre-charge stage shape what is available later. The practitioners profiled above are a starting point for informed referral within Victorian criminal defence.