The Herald Sun has since identified the victim of the attack as Alex Lewenberg of Lewenberg & Lewenberg, a prominent criminal defence lawyer who has represented Boris "The Black Diamond'" Beljajev, Tony Mokbel's brother, Horty Mokbel, and former president of the Outlaws motorcycle gang Brendan Peterson.

This morning's attack was not Lewenberg's first brush with violence. In 2006, a woman armed with a baseball bat attacked Lewenberg at his desk.

Lewenberg was banned from practising as a solicitor for two years in 1989 after he was found guilty of three unrelated charges of serious professional misconduct.

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In a 1999-2000 trial Lewenberg was also accused of being legal adviser to Beljajev's alleged heroin trafficking business. Senior prosecutor Brind Woinarski, QC, told the jury at the opening of the trial that Lewenberg's Queen Street office was under audio and video surveillance by a joint police task force in 1988.

Defence lawyers denied the claims against Lewenberg.

Beljajev, 49, was acquitted on October 13 of commercial heroin trafficking by a County Court jury, almost 12 years after he was charged.