Sophie’s practice encompasses the full spectrum of criminal law including state and Commonwealth proceedings in both the adult and youth jurisdictions. She regularly appears before Victorian courts as counsel and before investigative bodies, including Royal Commissions, the Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Sophie is frequently engaged at the pre-charge stage of proceedings, where early and well-informed intervention can fundamentally alter outcomes. She also advises on regulatory investigations and disciplinary matters connected to criminal allegations, bringing particular precision to written submissions in proceedings involving Working with Children Checks, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) registrations, and Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) registrations.
Sophie’s capacity to communicate across cultural, social, and linguistic divides, with both clarity and sensitivity, means that even the most complex and distressing matters are handled with the care they demand. This quality became defining during her years as a criminal defence advocate and manager at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) in Darwin, where she worked extensively on First Nations justice issues for several years. In 2017, she received direct referrals from witness and legal authorities involved in the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory, representing multiple witnesses including children, family groups, and a justice group from a remote community in formal hearings.
As In-House Counsel, Sophie collaborates with lawyers from our firm and barristers including Senior Counsel (KC). Sophie has appeared in jury trials, bail applications, contested hearings and committals, pleas, appeals, and Supreme Court applications. Among her notable achievements is appearing in the first Supreme Court application for suspension of reporting obligations under the Sex Offender Registration Act 2004 (SORA), succeeding in having the applicant’s reporting obligations suspended for the remainder of their life. She has also appeared in matters under the Serious Sex Offenders (Detention and Supervision) Act 2009 and the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 in the County Court of Victoria, and the Firearms Act 1996 in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Sophie’s courtroom skills were further sharpened by attending the National Criminal Defence College in the United States and completing a course in advanced jury trial practice.
Sophie is a member of the Bugmy Bar Book committee. The Bugmy Bar Book summarises nationwide research on the impacts of trauma, socioeconomic inequality and structural disadvantage, and strengths-based evidence, for use by lawyers and decision-makers in circumstances where a person’s life experience has particular relevance. The project is led by a committee constituted by representatives of key agencies and organisations in the justice sector from all over Australia. Sophie’s involvement reflects a broader philosophy that effective criminal defence requires not just legal mastery, but an understanding of the social forces that shape the people who come before the courts. In 2026, Sophie organised and co-hosted the inaugural Bugmy Bar Book Advocacy Workshop in Naarm / Melbourne along with others from the Bugmy Bar Book.
Sophie leads the internal lawyer training program at Doogue + George and regularly presents to external bodies including the Law Institute of Victoria and the Leo Cussens Centre for Law. She is an active participant in structured mentorship programs including Women in Crime (Victoria) and the Bunji Mentorship program (NAAJA, Northern Territory) where she provides support and guidance to criminal lawyers.
Sophie’s published contributions to the legal profession include:
- Bugmy 10 years on: Principles and practice — Law Institute Journal of Victoria
- A Criminal Lawyer on Prosecutorial Discretion — Advocare, Deakin University
- An unprecedented inquiry: The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory — Precedent magazine, Australian Lawyers Alliance
- The Bugmy Bar Book’s application in legal proceedings: From little things, big things grow — Precedent magazine, Australian Lawyers Alliance
- Insights into SORA registration and reporting — Law Institute Journal of Victoria
Phone: (03) 9670 5111
Location: 5/221 Queen Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Contact: Email sophie@doogue.com.au
Website: https://www.criminal-lawyers.com.au/
Country: Australia
State: Victoria
City: Melbourne