| Garde Wilson Lawyers | |
| Founded: | 2004 |
| Founder: | Zarah Garde-Wilson |
| Hq Location City: | Melbourne |
| Hq Location Country: | Australia |
| Key People: | Mitch Fraser, general manager |
| Services: | Criminal defence law |
Garde Wilson Lawyers is a criminal defence law firm based in Melbourne, founded by Zarah Garde-Wilson.
Garde Wilson Lawyers was founded in 2008 by Australian criminal defence attorney Zarah Garde-Wilson, known for her involvement in events surrounding the Melbourne gangland killings between January 1998 and August 2010 and her role bringing public attention to the recruitment of lawyers as informants by Victorian Police in the Lawyer X Scandal.[1] <[2]
In 2019, she was joined by Mitch Fraser, who became the firm's general manager in 2021. That year the firm opened an office in Gold Coast, Queensland.
Zarah Garde-Wilson's connection with Mokbel has been noted throughout his legal battles and she has represented him in various legal proceedings.[3] [4]
Robert Karam: Zarah Garde-Wilson represented Karam in his appeal against a 37-year prison sentence[5] for his role in a large-scale drug smuggling operation. Karam's case was complicated by the "Lawyer X" scandal, where his former lawyer, Nicola Gobbo, acted as a police informant, compromising his defence.[6]
Tony Larussa: Zarah Garde-Wilson acted for Tony Larussa, a cattle breeder from Gingin, and successfully argued for his drug trafficking conviction for hiding 10 kg of methamphetamine to be overturned.[7] Initially sentenced to ten years in prison, Larussa's conviction was thrown out by the Supreme Court of Western Australia.[8]
Fadi Haddara: Alleged Haddara crime family boss, Fadi Haddara faced firearms charges in 2024, including possessing unregistered firearms and handling a stolen Glock handgun.[9] [10] This followed a series of raids by Victorian Police under Operation Skyborne set up by Taskforce Santiago[11] which targeted the Haddara family's criminal activities.[12]
Osman El-Houli: Osman El-Houli, a truck driver, was found not guilty of attempting to possess a border-controlled drug after allegedly being hired to drive 3,000 km from Melbourne to collect 400 kg of cocaine in Queensland. Represented at trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland by Zarah Garde-Wilson, the jury acquitted him of all charges.[13] [14] [15]