Derek is an experienced lawyer with a passion for criminal litigation. Throughout his career, Derek has appeared in all criminal courts in NSW as well as advocating for clients in a diverse range of jurisdictions including the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Family Court, and the Care and Protection Division of the NSW Children’s Court.
Before being called to the NSW Bar in 2022, Derek was a Solicitor Advocate at Legal Aid NSW for three years from 2019 to 2022. Before that, Derek gained international legal experience while living in Canada, between 2017 and 2019, when he worked for the Ontario Ombudsman in Toronto and was called to the Ontario Bar in 2019.
Between 2015 and 2022, Derek appeared as advocate in several District Court jury and judge alone trials and a substantial number of District Court sentence hearings in NSW. Derek became an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law with the Law Society of NSW in 2015 and is a keen contributor of continuing professional development papers and conference presentations.