Australian Magazine

Zali Burrows’ name has been linked to some of the most talked-about court cases in Australia in the past few years. She is a criminal defense lawyer in Sydney who used to work with gangsters, terrorism cases, and high-stakes criminal trials. Now she is at the center of a national debate because she is defending former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

At the same time, Zali Burrows has been under a lot of pressure to explain her own money, legal strategy, and career choices. Supporters see a lawyer who is willing to fight with controversial clients and powerful institutions. Critics say that the preparation was spotty, the bankruptcy saga was painful, and there were fights over defamation within the legal profession itself.

This article talks about who Zali Burrows is, how she built her criminal law practice, why she is so important to the Lehrmann case, and what her story shows about risk, reputation, and strength in the Australian legal system.

Who is Zali Burrows?

There isn’t much biographical information about Zali Burrows that is available to the public. Professional profiles say that she is an Australian lawyer who lives in Sydney and works mostly in criminal law. She runs her own firm, which is often called Zali Burrows Lawyers or Zali Burrows at Law.

Her LinkedIn profile says that she went to the University of Sydney, which is one of Australia’s top law schools and shows that she has had formal legal training. There hasn’t been much coverage of her early life, family, or reasons for choosing the law, which is different from the heavy coverage of her later cases and fights.

In the legal and media worlds, Zali Burrows is often called “colorful” and “high-profile.” These words are used by reporters and commentators to describe both her courtroom style and the unusual path her career has taken. She is not a barrister; she is a solicitor-advocate. This means that she goes to higher courts without the usual silk or junior counsel that are often seen in big appeals.

Zali Burrows and Her Journey Through Criminal Law

Before the Bruce Lehrmann case made her a household name, Zali Burrows was already known in New South Wales criminal courts for representing clients at the most difficult parts of the justice system. There have been reports that she is connected to gangland figures and terrorism-related claims, putting her in a tough spot where public opinion can be negative and the stakes are very high for defendants.

Zali Burrows is known for working with the infamous Sydney identity Salim Mehajer, which is one example of the kind of work she does. Court records show that Mehajer faced more fraud charges after allegedly forging the signatures of his lawyer at the time, Zali Burrows, and his sister on documents. Burrows told the court that the signature wasn’t hers, saying she was in court when the document was supposed to have been signed.

Her name has also come up in news stories about the long-running investigations into serial killer Ivan Milat. One article said that criminal lawyer Zali Burrows thinks that inmate Bassam Hamzy might know something about Milat’s missing victims. These kinds of high-profile, often controversial cases have helped her build her reputation in Australian criminal law.

The Defamation Appeal for Zali Burrows and Bruce Lehrmann

When Zali Burrows took on the defamation appeal for former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, it was a turning point in the public eye. Lehrmann sued over an episode of The Project that he said made it look like he had raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House. The Federal Court eventually turned down his claim and found, on the civil standard, that he had raped Higgins.

When Lehrmann tried to appeal that decision, he couldn’t hire a senior lawyer because the Federal Court heard that he couldn’t afford his previous King’s Counsel. He hired Zali Burrows to help him with the appeal. ABC News calls her “a high-profile Sydney solicitor whose main area of expertise has been criminal law.” She was his only lawyer in front of the full bench of the Federal Court, where she faced off against some of the best defamation lawyers in the country.

The hearing’s coverage made it clear how far outside her normal area of work the case was. The Guardian said that Zali Burrows is “a well-known criminal defense lawyer but has no experience in defamation law and has not been admitted to the bar.” This lack of specialized knowledge showed at times: reporters saw her having trouble organizing detailed legal arguments or finding important parts of the huge appeal papers.

Still, Zali Burrows acted as if she was dedicated to the job even though it was hard. In one well-known exchange, she told the court, “I’m just going to try and do the best I can,” after saying sorry that her client had not been able to hire a silk.

In the end, the appeal did not work. The full court not only upheld the original decision, but also made it clear that Lehrmann knew Higgins did not agree to have sex and did it anyway. That result put Zali Burrows and her advocacy under even more scrutiny, with some people wondering if a more experienced defamation team could have made the arguments in a different way.

Zali Burrows and Bruce Lehrmann-What Comes Next

Zali Burrows has been involved in Lehrmann’s legal problems in more than just the Federal Court. She has represented him in several places, such as Queensland and Tasmania, because he is facing different criminal charges than the ones that happened at Parliament House.

Zali Burrows is defending himself in a case in Queensland where he is accused of raping a woman twice in Toowoomba in 2021. In that case, she has asked the court to let her see what she says is the full, unredacted phone data from the complainant. Court reports say that she told Judge Dennis Lynch that a second download of the woman’s phone made a report that didn’t match the first one, saying that “some key words were missing that were on the statement of facts.”

In another case in Tasmania, Zali Burrows represented Lehrmann when he was sentenced for driving a car without the owner’s permission. The Hobart Magistrates Court heard that medical certificates did not excuse his earlier absence. The magistrate reminded Zali Burrows that both she and her client had been ordered to appear. In the end, she called Lehrmann from court, and he changed his plea to guilty and showed up later that day.

Zali Burrows has talked about the possibility of taking the case further, even after the failed defamation appeal. She told ABC News outside the Federal Court that she was talking to her client about a possible High Court application. She said, “We are hoping there will be supporters who will want to support Bruce” in paying for more legal action.

Those statements have been picked up by opinion writers. In one article in The Guardian, Zali Burrows said that Lehrmann had become “Australia’s most hated man” and “pretty much… the national joke.” The writer suggested that Burrows had since tried to replace this language with a more sympathetic line that he is a “inspiration” to those who say they are wrongly accused.

Zali Burrows’s public image and media profile

Zali Burrows has become very well-known in the media because of how intense the Lehrmann case is. She has been filmed and photographed many times outside of court buildings, where she has talked about her client’s case and the next steps in his legal strategy. After important decisions, ABC News has put out video clips with titles like “Zali Burrows speaks outside the Federal Court.”

At the same time, mainstream media have tried to put Zali Burrows in the bigger picture of Sydney’s criminal law. A “pinstripe power” feature on powerful lawyers said that she has “arguably Australia’s toughest legal gig” in trying to convince an appeal court that Lehrmann is a good person. The article said that this was a big change from her usual work, which “includes acting for gangsters and terrorists.”

Not all of the coverage has been good. Some people have said that she was outgunned by specialist defamation lawyers or not ready for the size of the appeal record. Others have pointed out times when judges were angry because she didn’t turn in her papers on time or because they were missing information. For example, at a Toowoomba hearing, her failure to turn in papers on time caused a key pre-trial argument to be delayed.

Still, the amount of attention shows how much Zali Burrows has become a part of the story. People who support Lehrmann see her as a strong supporter who is willing to help him when he needs it. For critics, she is a good example of the dangers of running complicated, high-stakes appeals without the usual layers of expert legal advice.

Zali Burrows’s financial and professional problems

Zali Burrows has had her own serious legal and financial problems in addition to her work for high-profile clients. Multiple decisions and news reports show that there has been a long-running disagreement over unpaid legal fees to a former firm. This disagreement led to bankruptcy proceedings and repeated attempts to challenge costs orders.

In 2023, Lawyers Weekly and other news sources reported on Zali Burrows’s 12-year fight with her own lawyers over a $12,000 bill. The Federal Court said that one of her attempts to avoid paying was “doomed to fail.” She was served with a bankruptcy notice for more than $130,000, which she was unable to get rid of.

Those reports show a lawyer who, even though she knows a lot about criminal law, has had a hard time dealing with the financial effects of long-term litigation on her own behalf. The story is complicated: she has claimed that previous companies charged her too much and treated her unfairly, but courts have repeatedly said that her legal arguments did not justify canceling the debts.

Zali Burrows is also suing Adam Houda, a well-known criminal lawyer, for defamation over tweets that had a zipper-mouth-face emoji. This is on top of the bankruptcy case. The Brisbane Times said that she claims the posts suggested she had acted so badly in court that a judge suggested disciplinary action, which she says is false and harmful.

Zali Burrows is a rare criminal defense attorney because she is both a representative and a party in contested, widely reported legal cases. This is because she has a lot of cases, personal lawsuits, and financial problems.

The Health, Workload, and Human Side of Zali Burrows

Reporters have also talked about the personal stress Zali Burrows is under, in addition to the courtroom drama. In March 2025, news.com.au said that she had become “seriously ill” with cancer. They got this information from court documents related to another part of the Lehrmann case.

That news changed how people saw Zali Burrows even more. Some people think it helps explain some of the problems and delays that have gotten the courts in trouble. On the other hand, it shows how hard it is to run a small criminal law firm while also being in charge of complicated, emotionally charged cases that are all over the news.

No matter what the exact effect of her illness on specific hearings was, the news shows that Zali Burrows has been trying to deal with serious health problems while also dealing with a lot of work and money problems. It reminds us that lawyers who are in the news every day are still people under a lot of stress, not just names in headlines.

What Australian Law Says About Zali Burrows

From a legal point of view, Zali Burrows is in a unique position between traditional criminal defense work and the modern, media-driven world of high-profile litigation. She is a solicitor-advocate who has chosen to appear in major appeals herself instead of hiring specialist barristers to do it for her. This makes her different from a lot of her peers.

Some people have praised her work for Lehrmann, saying that even unpopular defendants deserve a strong defense. Others have criticized her, saying that her lack of experience with defamation cases left her client vulnerable in a complicated appeal. Her own court cases, on the other hand, have sparked discussions about professional standards, how much things should cost, and how far self-representation can go.

At the same time, Zali Burrows is part of a bigger discussion about gender and visibility in the legal system. She is listed and talked about as one of Sydney’s most important criminal defense lawyers, along with senior counsel and long-time professionals in the field. Whether critics like her methods or not, the fact that she is in these rankings shows that determination, a strong profile, and a willingness to take on controversial issues can still change the balance in a field that is usually conservative.

Zali Burrows’s Future

In the future, Zali Burrows’s path will probably depend on three things: the outcome of Bruce Lehrmann’s ongoing cases in Queensland and any further appeals; the resolution of her own financial and defamation issues; and her ability to rebuild or strengthen her reputation with judges, colleagues, and clients.

If Lehrmann goes to the High Court, Zali Burrows could still be at the center of one of the most closely watched legal cases in the country. If he doesn’t, or if the High Court doesn’t give her special leave, she might go back to practicing law in New South Wales and beyond, focusing more on criminal defense, complicated trials, and appeals.

The story of Zali Burrows raises important questions for Australian law, such as who gets to argue the biggest cases, how far a solicitor-advocate can go beyond their main area of expertise, and what happens when the line between a professional advocate and a media figure starts to blur.

Conclusion

Zali Burrows went from being a criminal lawyer in Sydney to a national news figure. This shows how quickly a lawyer’s career can change when they take on a case that gets a lot of attention. Because she chose to support Bruce Lehrmann in his defamation appeal and criminal cases, often against well-funded opponents, she is now a well-known figure outside of court buildings and a frequent topic of conversation, both positive and negative.

At the same time, Zali Burrows has had to deal with her own legal and financial problems, like bankruptcy notices and defamation suits, all while being very sick and still working on other important cases.

People who follow Australian law can see how advocacy, reputation, risk, and personal circumstances all come together in the case of Zali Burrows. Her name is now firmly planted in the world of modern Australian law, and it will probably stay there for a long time. People will remember her as a brave defender of unpopular clients, a warning about going too far, or something else.

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