Access to real justice for all.

MyDefence connects our customers with criminal defence lawyers who share our vision of making the law affordable to all and who deeply care about their clients in the impact a criminal conviction can have on their lives. We built MyDefence on the back of research that revealed that 97% of criminal cases are resolved by the police withdrawing charges, or clients pleading guilty to fewer charges. Only a small percentage ever get to a contested hearing or trial which is the most expensive part of criminal defence.

Taking a digital-first approach.

We have gotten rid of the old school way that lawyers work with clients, police and prosecutors in the criminal justice system. We do this by connecting you with lawyers who remove the need for face to face conferences and some court attendances that traditional law firms rely on to charge exorbitant fees. Instead, we use technology to enable lawyers who we refer you to to get you winning personalised legal results. Our referred lawyers save you time and money by streamlined communications through the MyDefence website.

Our goal is that by the time of your first court appearance, most of the negotiations are done by your referred lawyer. As part of this, you will also know your options and case strategy. This means there are no surprises and less anxiety.

Our referred lawyers attend all your important hearings and write to the court in advance of seeking simple adjournments where you are required to attend.

The advice of your referred lawyer is accessible through your MyDefence account. When you view your account, you will see your defences for each charge. The MyDefence platform also provide an outline of the material that your lawyer needs from you to get charges withdrawn or reduced.

Getting pleas down to a fine art.

If your referred lawyer advises you that the charges can be proven, the lawyer will attend your Plea Hearing with a well crafted plea structured to persuade the magistrate to only impose the minimum sentence without conviction. As part of this, the MyDefence platform supplies you with reference templates and connects you with service providers to provide reports for your plea.

What about Legal Aid?

Legal Aid is only eligible for people on low incomes. For everyone else they need to fund their own defence. Legal Aid has freely acknowledged the pressure on their criminal law service and "putting the quality of service people receive at risk and reducing the number of people [they] can help". Our experience has shown that Legal Aid, while free, can produce mixed outcomes like with any legal service depending on the experience of the solicitor a client is assigned. Legal Aid is also under significant funding and time pressures and lawyers while highly skilled are operating in challenging circumstances. MyDefence is supportive of Legal Aid and the work they do, however our goal is to offer choice of representation to clients on the financial margins. With MyDefence you get a top criminal lawyer referred to you and dedicated to getting you the best outcome without compromise.