Notorious gangland criminals were everyday clients for Melbourne lawyer George Defteros, until they forced him to live in fear. Stephanie Quine finds out how he managed to stay in the business.

George Defteros is not your everyday criminal lawyer; his clients aren’t your run of the mill, street-level criminals.

“They know the system, they know how much barristers charge, they know the ins and outs,” says George.

He can reel off colourful clients going back 30 years: Alphonse Gangitano, Graham Kinniburgh and Mario Condello – all murdered in Melbourne’s bloody underworld turf war; Tony Mokbel, once described as Australia’s most-wanted man; Mick Gatto, who was acquitted of murdering Andrew Veniamin; and fugitive Mexican banker Carlos Cabal Peniche.

A passionate lawyer and fervent communicator, George went above and beyond for his clients, earning him a reputation as the lawyer of choice for many notorious criminals.

That was until he was arrested, along with Condello, and charged with conspiracy to murder in 2004.

“It totally destroyed our lives,” says Sandy Defteros, George’s wife. The resentment in her voice lingers as she describes how the family experienced death threats and how her two sons’ lives were at risk.

“One of our former clients infiltrated our family because he and his de facto wanted to avoid going to prison ... my husband was basically made a scapegoat; he was charged with conspiracy to murder Carl Williams and his father and allegedly a third person for no reason whatsoever, they just wanted a high-profile scalp,” said Sandy.

The charge was dropped in 2005 but George didn’t work again for four years. But together he and Sandy rebuilt their practice and their lives.

Eight years on, George has formed clear ideas about some of his more glamorous clients.

Rebuilding

In a quiet street in Prahran, South Yarra, Sandy and George turned an old townhouse into what looks more modern condo than law firm. Sandy assumed the role of practice manager of Defteros Lawyers four years ago and made it her project to create a peaceful and cheery office.

Glass, from floor to ceiling, allows a clear line of sight through Sandy’s office into a courtyard. Sculptures sit and brightly-coloured artworks hang in glass-walled meeting rooms at either side of the first floor.

“It’s pleasant here, it’s quiet,” says George, comparing the new space to his old offices in Melbourne’s CBD and in Perth.

Staff wear casual clothes when they are not meeting clients and have been spotted at the office at 11.30pm on Fridays, “mingling”, having a drink, watching the footy, says George.

Converted bedrooms serve as single and shared offices upstairs, alongside a small laundry and house-style bathroom.

“You don’t have that feeling like you’re at the office,” says Julia Solecki, a family lawyer at the firm who has worked in both private practice and with Victorian Legal Aid.

“It’s a lot more comfortable than other places I’ve worked. It’s a family business and more of a boutique practice … it’s really nice, it suits me.”

Five and a half billable hours is the order of each day and staff (two family lawyers and three criminal/general practitioners) are trusted to get their work done.

“We don’t want to overload them … keeping in mind how intense each day is we say alright, enough, go home …  you’re not productive after that [and] that leads to errors taking place,” says Sandy, who has a background in criminology and is completing her Juris Doctor.

“You don’t want to be making errors because we’re dealing with high-profile, problematic cases so you want to make sure everything’s ticking over nicely like a well-oiled machine.”

Risky business

George is still spoilt for choice for interesting and high-profile criminal cases. He’s currently acting on a landmark IVF case that has generated international media attention, as well as a bushfire compensation claim for a private individual.

His perspective, however, seems to have changed. There is a general understanding that he won’t act for clients of the gangland war era, explains Sandy. He takes a more direct approach to mentally-ill or threatening clients and collaborates with staff when deciding on whom to act for.

“We talk about the moral issues, the financial implications, how [taking on this matter] will take time away from other matters …we ask the staff and we all make the decision together,” says George.

“It’s a stressful occupation enough as it is and if someone is going to be rude or aggressive towards the staff we’d rather tell that person we can’t act for them anymore than have any implications on the staff.”

At one stage, in his former firm, George had a staff of 40 people.

“It was very, very busy, very hectic, very stressful; very different to what we do now. It was high-paced. It was like crossing a creek and not wanting to get your feet wet by standing on all the stones, but sometimes you would and sometimes you’d even slip and fall in and if that happened you were in trouble, so I don’t want to go back to that sort of environment again,” he says, recalling previous clients knocking on his garage door at three o’clock in the morning and waiting for him at the airport wanting urgent advice.

“I think when what you’re trying to achieve in your professional life and your family life starts to get blurred, it causes enormous stress on the family at home,” says George, describing the “fortress situation” his family lived in at one point, with cameras and alarms on the house.

“It’s not a good way to live, believe me,” he says.

Working to live

Gaining perspective on complex legal work can be challenging, especially with varied and high-profile cases. While lawyers at Defteros pursue athletic and musical interests, Sandy and George have to work hard to make time for activities outside work (besides the AFL).

The pair is currently, with their older son, trialling a seven-week course on mindfulness and meditation.
If it goes well, they say they will pay for staff to do it.

“What I like about it is … it teaches you to let go of things and don’t replay the same old movies in the back of your head … so I think it’s very current to what we’re doing and trying to achieve,” says George.

The practice has also shifted in the type of legal work it does. George has seen more white-collar criminal clients, medical practitioner offences and serious tax frauds since moving to South Yarra.

George encourages young lawyers at the firm to observe him in court and staff do their own court appearances “rather than flick it off to a barrister”. The benefits go both ways; continuity, support and cost cutting for the client and a holistic experience for lawyers.

Power and passion

It’s obvious a passion for justice still burns in George, as he explains the IVF matter he is working on to be a breach of his client’s human rights.

The 34-year-old former school integration aide, for whom George is acting pro bono, was denied access to IVF treatment after he was convicted of having sex with a 16-year-old girl under his care in 2008.

The man and his wife had started treatment before he was arrested and planned to resume it when he was released early last year, after spending 12 months in prison.

“This case has been huge, we’re working weekends and if it goes to the High Court then so be it,” says George.

“We’re a successful practice … we have a lot of turnover of clients but if there’s a case such as this then we want to see it through. If it’s in the client’s interests and the interests of justice and society, we want to be able to put our stamp on what we think our position should be.”

The line between work and life is a tough one to toe in morally-significant disputes like this one, but George insists he is not about to go backwards.

“We’ve moved along and we’ve had that break and we’re stronger and wiser,” he says.

“We’ve got a lot of time for the staff; we’ve got all our intellectual property in the staff and we want to grow their careers.”

Sandy says the firm has grown in “leaps and bounds” from “nothing” four years ago.

“We’re not perfect, it’s a work in progress. You can make lots of excuses but if you care about your staff, you make time for them and you take that step back.”