Julie-Anne was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1991. She worked as a criminal barrister in London until December 2005, prosecuting and defending all levels and types of serious criminal cases. When she first moved to New Zealand, Julie-Anne was a senior solicitor at the Auckland Crown Solicitor’s office before returning to the independent bar in 2013.

Julie-Anne was appointed to the senior rank of King’s Counsel (“took silk”) in 2019. 

Julie-Anne is Vice-President of the Law Association (ADLS) and the convenor of the Criminal Law Committee of that organisation. Julie-Anne is also a committee member of the Auckland Medico-Legal Society. She regularly gives seminars to lawyers on the practice of criminal law. She is passionate about supporting other lawyers as well as law reform.  

Julie-Anne has been involved in a number of high-profile cases in New Zealand. She is well respected by the legal profession and has been acknowledged by the internationally recognised “Doyle’s Leading Criminal Defence Lawyers” at the top level of ‘pre-eminent' in 2020, 2021 and 2022.  Julie-Anne was named by NZ Lawyer as among the most influential lawyers in 2021 and was the winner of the APAC Insider award as the leading Criminal Defence Lawyer 2022.

Julie-Anne works with a team of other professionals who strive to ensure that each client achieves the best possible outcome.  She is assisted in her day-to-day practice by her junior lawyer, Jasmine Jackson and her Legal Executive, Peta Freeman.  

Julie-Anne is an approved legal aid provider for all levels of criminal cases.