Casey Isaacs is a highly respected criminal defence lawyer with more than two decades’ experience practising exclusively in criminal law. He is consistently recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a Leading South Australian Criminal Defence Lawyer, a distinction awarded on peer review by fellow criminal lawyers and barristers for demonstrated expertise, ability and standing within the profession.
He is frequently engaged by clients whose matters carry substantial personal, professional and reputational consequences, including elite professional athletes, senior executives, company directors, elected officials and other high-profile individuals. Casey is trusted to handle cases where discretion, strategic judgement and courtroom experience are critical. He also regularly acts as counsel assisting the SANFL Tribunal in disciplinary proceedings.
Casey appears regularly in the Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts of South Australia, as well as in the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia. He has acted in some of the most serious and complex criminal matters prosecuted in the state, including major drug trafficking, fraud, firearms offences, sexual offences, homicide and significant criminal appeals. He has acted in multiple Supreme Court murder trials, including several high-profile acquittals.
He has extensive experience conducting jury trials, judge-alone trials, contested hearings, sentencing proceedings, bail applications and appeals. Casey has been involved in significant appellate litigation, including matters that have proceeded to the High Court of Australia, among them Brawn, a High Court decision handed down in 2024.
Casey acts in both State and Commonwealth prosecutions and has represented clients in matters across South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. He has also been involved in international and transnational criminal matters, liaising directly with District Attorneys in the United States and with the Department of Justice in relation to extradition and criminal proceedings. He regularly appears in regulatory and investigative matters involving ASIC, ICAC and ACIC.
Criminal assets confiscation is a particular area of expertise. Casey is widely recognised for his strategic and technical command of the Criminal Assets Confiscation Act and for achieving consistently favourable outcomes for clients in negotiations and contested proceedings against the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Casey’s direct and pragmatic approach to negotiations and court proceedings is focused on achieving the best possible outcome without unnecessary cost or delay. Clients value his clarity, preparation and strategic judgement, particularly in matters where liberty, property and reputation are at stake.
