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Ellie DudleyLegal Affairs Correspondent

Ellie Dudley is the legal affairs correspondent at The Australian covering courts, crime, and changes to the legal industry. She was previously a reporter on the NSW desk and, before that, one of the newspaper’s cadets.

@EllieDudley_

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ExclusiveLegal Affairs

Bruce Lehrmann and solicitor Zali Burrows in Hobart. Picture: Elise Kaine

Lehrmann sacks Toowoomba lawyer for more ‘aggressive’ representation

Bruce Lehrmann has sacked lawyers representing him in his Queensland rape trial, and will now be represented by criminal solicitor Zali Burrows.

Ellie Dudley

HORROR COLLISIONNation

Pictured is the scene in Tregeagle, South of Lismore where some Army trucks were involved in an incident leaving multiple Defence Force Personnel injured. Picture: Nathan Smith/MATRIXNEWS

Police shed light on what led to army truck crash in flood zone

Thirteen people have been injured after two Australian Defence Force vehicles deployed to the Northern Rivers region of NSW crashed.

Ellie Dudley, Sarah Elks and Richard Ferguson

ROAD MAP REVEALEDNation

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos - February 10, 2025: Attorney-General of Australia, Mark Dreyfus, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Prerecorded hearings, lawyers funded in radical rape law proposal

An overhaul of rape provisions proposed by Australia’s law reform body says sexual assault complainants should be provided with a government-funded lawyer and a prerecorded hearing.

Ellie Dudley

NEW DOCUMENTSNation

DAILY TELEGRAPH 19TH FEBRUARY 2025Pictured at The MCA in Sydney is Lisa Wilkinson at the Packer Family Foundation lunch.Picture: Richard Dobson.

Wilkinson challenges Logies finding

The veteran television presenter has lodged new submissions challenging aspects of Federal Court judge Michael Lee’s landmark defamation judgment against Bruce Lehrmann.

Ellie Dudley and Stephen Rice

Victoria PoliceLegal Affairs

A Slater and Gordon billboard is seen outside their office in Melbourne on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. Slater and Gordon shareholders have approved a lifeline for the troubled law firm, voting to back a recapitalisation plan at a meeting in Melbourne. (AAP Image/Luis Enrique Ascui) NO ARCHIVING

Cybercops on the trail: Slater + Gordon culprit could face prison

The mystery culprit who sent a ‘malicious’ email to all staff at legal giant Slater + Gordon – including details of the salary and performance ratings of every employee – could be facing years in prison if caught.

Ellie Dudley and Stephen Rice

INSIDE STORYLegal Affairs

The poison-pen email that blew up a law firm

It was 9.48am when a perfectly aimed missile dropped into the inboxes of most Slater + Gordon employees. Then all hell broke loose.

Ellie Dudley and Stephen Rice

NSWLegal Affairs

NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC takes questions during a NSW Budget Estimates hearing at the Parliament of NSW in Sydney, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING

Helping with police probe? DPP won’t say

Sally Dowling SC has refused to confirm whether she is cooperating with a police investigation into an extraordinary leak of legally restricted material from within her office.

Ellie Dudley

ExclusiveLegal Affairs

Bar Council drops DPP complaints

The NSW Bar Council has dropped two complaints that accused chief prosecutor Sally Dowling SC of attempting to influence the judiciary, claiming it does not have the jurisdiction to determine whether her actions amount to unsatisfactory professional conduct.

Ellie Dudley

exclusiveNation

It wasn’t me, says ex-Slaters employee

A former Slater + Gordon employee whose name appears in the metadata of a payroll spreadsheet sent in a company-wide email claims someone may have impersonated her, as dozens of staff face investigation for forwarding the email outside the law firm.

Ellie Dudley and Stephen Rice

ExclusiveLegal Affairs

‘Why are we here?’ judge asks prosecutor who admits he can’t win

In an extraordinary opening address to the court, the crown prosecutor conceded the case had no prospects of a conviction, as the judge questioned why the matter was brought in the first place.

Ellie Dudley

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/ellie-dudley/page/3