We are passionate about protecting the rights of an accused against the powers of government: the police, DPP and other  prosecuting authorities, who often seek to imprison, restrict  and coerce the individual. 

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Bannisters Lawyers is a Sydney based law firm practising exclusively in criminal law. The firm is headed by Abigail Bannister who has over 20 years experience practising in criminal law. Abigail is supported by a dedicated and experienced team of passionate lawyers and support staff.  We practice across all jurisdictions including the Local Court, District Court, Supreme Court and  the High Court of Australia in defended hearings, trials, sentence hearings, appeals, and other matters. We are members of the Legal Aid Serious Crime Panel, Legal Aid Indictable Panel and Legal Aid  General Crime  panels. We are predominantly and extensively engaged in defence of allegations of serious crime.

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We represent accused from a wide range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, including the privileged and under privileged. We are passionate about remedying disadvantage in our community and  offer pro-bono assistance for Aboriginal Australians and other disadvantaged persons where appropriate. 

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We also appear regularly before Tribunals, Commissions  and Boards including the State Parole Authority, NSW Crime Commission, Australian Crime Commission,  and Mental Health Review Tribunal.

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We have appeared in many in some of this State and the country’s most notorious criminal trials/appeals including trials for murder, organised criminal gang activities, terrorism large-scale drug importations, drug manufacture and supply. We also act in large and complex white collar fraud matters.

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We have access to a large  database of specialist experts to assist in supporting a defence including senior counsel, junior counsel, psychiatrists, psychologists, forensic pathologists, blood splatter, neurologists, cyber & IT experts, data recovery & computer analysis, telephone and network specialists, DNA, Drug and drug analysis Scientific, Analytical accounting and those with any other fields of expertise.