Can you switch criminal lawyers mid-case in Victoria?
Yes. It is your case, and you are entitled to change your lawyer if you are not satisfied with them. You do not have to justify the decision to anyone or stay with a lawyer you have lost confidence in. You have the right to change your lawyer or firm if you wish to, and the process for doing so is well established. The things to manage are practical, not permission, because the right itself is clear.
Try to resolve the issue first
Before switching, it is worth pausing to see whether the problem can be fixed. Many concerns, particularly around communication, can be resolved with a direct conversation, and sometimes a phone call clears up a misunderstanding that felt like a deal breaker. It is also worth asking yourself an honest question: is the problem the lawyer, or is it the case? A difficult matter with limited options can feel like poor lawyering when it is actually the reality of the situation. Working out which it is helps you avoid changing lawyers only to face the same hard facts with a new person.
A practical way to test this is to raise your concerns clearly, ideally by asking for a meeting or putting them in writing, and giving your lawyer a genuine chance to respond. A good lawyer will welcome the conversation and either fix the problem or explain something you had misunderstood, such as why a case is being run a particular way. If the response is dismissive, or nothing changes, that itself tells you something useful. Either way, you lose nothing by trying first, and you may save yourself the cost and disruption of a switch you did not really need.
It is your decision, and your case
That said, if you have genuinely lost confidence, you should not feel trapped. Trust between you and your lawyer matters enormously in a criminal case, because you need to be candid with them and confident in their advice.
If that trust is gone, or you want a lawyer who specialises in your type of charge, changing is a legitimate choice. The right to do so is yours, and a good lawyer will not take offence at a client seeking the representation they are most comfortable with.
How do you actually change lawyers?
Through a straightforward process your new lawyer largely handles. Once you engage a new lawyer, they will ask you to sign an authority so your file can be transferred, and they then deal with your former lawyer directly. In fact, once the change is underway, communication generally occurs between the two firms rather than with you, and your new lawyer files a notice with the court confirming they now act for you. From your side, the main step is choosing the new lawyer and signing the authority, and the professionals handle the rest.
The lawyer-to-lawyer nature of the handover is deliberate and helpful. Your former lawyer stops acting and hands the matter over in an orderly way, rather than you having to relay documents and messages between them. This is one reason it is worth engaging the new lawyer first, before formally ending things with the old one, so the transition is managed rather than leaving a gap in your representation. A criminal matter should never be left without a lawyer during a changeover, particularly if court dates are coming up.
Getting your file and the solicitor’s lien
Your file is central to a smooth handover, and there is one common complication to understand. A former lawyer may be entitled to hold your file until their reasonable fees are paid, a right known as a solicitor’s lien, but that file cannot be unreasonably withheld. In practice, the transfer is often arranged so the new lawyer can get on with the case while the question of outstanding fees is dealt with properly. The Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner also provides avenues if you are in dispute about your former lawyer’s bill, so an unpaid fee issue does not have to hold your matter hostage indefinitely.
Where a lien exists, a common way through it is for the new lawyer to give the former lawyer a professional undertaking, holding the file subject to the lien and preserving the fee position, so the case can continue while the money is sorted out. The courts recognise that a client’s matter should not simply stall because of a fee dispute, particularly in a criminal case where the stakes are a person’s liberty. The key point for you is that an outstanding bill is a problem to be managed, not an absolute barrier to changing lawyers, and an experienced new lawyer will know how to handle it.
What does switching cost you?
There is a real cost, and it is worth being clear-eyed about it. You will generally have to pay your first lawyer for the work they have already properly done, and your new lawyer will need time to get up to speed on your matter, which is itself work you are paying for. So switching is rarely free, and part of the decision is weighing that cost against the benefit of better representation, in the same way you would weigh what a criminal lawyer costs at the start of a matter. Where the issue with your current lawyer is serious, the cost of changing is usually worth it, but where it is minor, the re-briefing cost is a genuine factor to consider.
Timing: switching close to a hearing or trial
This is where switching gets risky, and it catches people out. A court will not necessarily adjourn your matter just because you have changed lawyers, particularly if a hearing or trial date is close. That means a late switch can leave a new lawyer with very little time to prepare, or force you to proceed on a date you are not ready for. If you are thinking about changing, the single most important practical point is to do it as early as possible, well before any listed hearing, so your new lawyer has time to prepare properly and the change does not disrupt your case.
Changing your lawyer if you are on legal aid
The rules are different, and stricter, if a grant of legal aid is paying for your lawyer. You can request a change of allocated lawyer, but it is not automatic and requires Victoria Legal Aid’s approval. As the Victoria Legal Aid Handbook sets out, the standard for criminal matters is higher, and approval is generally only given where the original lawyer has a conflict of interest or there is another compelling reason why they should not act. Victoria Legal Aid also will not cover the extra costs of the change, such as a new lawyer familiarising themselves with the file. So if you are on legal aid, changing lawyers is possible but more constrained, and you need a genuine, accepted reason.
This makes sense when you remember that legal aid is publicly funded and its resources are limited, so it does not fund clients moving between lawyers freely, one of several ways legal aid differs from a private engagement. When a change is approved, the grant generally continues on its existing terms, and the new lawyer takes over the matter as funded.
If you are on legal aid and unhappy, the practical step is to raise your concerns and, if they cannot be resolved, ask about the change process rather than assuming you can simply pick a new lawyer as a private client could. Being clear about your reasons, and whether they meet the threshold, is the key to whether a change will be approved.
When switching is the right move
There are situations where changing is clearly justified. A complete breakdown in communication, a loss of trust, a fundamental disagreement about strategy, or a sense that your matter needs a lawyer with particular expertise are all sound reasons to move. The key is to distinguish a real problem with your representation from ordinary anxiety about a hard case. Getting a second opinion can be a useful middle step, because it either reassures you that your current lawyer is on the right track or confirms that a change is warranted, without committing you before you are sure.
Some warning signs are worth taking seriously: calls and emails that go unanswered for long periods, deadlines or court dates handled at the last minute, pressure to plead a particular way without a clear explanation, or an inability to tell you what the strategy actually is. One-off frustrations happen in every case, but a pattern of these is a genuine reason to look elsewhere. Trusting your own judgment here is reasonable, because you are the person living with the consequences of how your matter is run, and you are entitled to representation you have confidence in.
So can you switch lawyers mid-case?
Yes, the right is yours, but do it thoughtfully: try to resolve the issue first, move early rather than close to a hearing, understand the cost, and be aware of the extra steps if you are on legal aid.
Trust in your lawyer matters too much to ignore, and no one should feel stuck with representation they have genuinely lost faith in. If you are unhappy with your current lawyer, or you want a second opinion on how your matter is being run, get an independent view about your situation, so you can make a clear, informed decision about your representation.
