Elise was admitted to the Supreme Court of Western Australia in 2005 and joined Perrella Legal as a part time lawyer after many years experience as a prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (WA) where she garnered an excellent reputation for her thorough preparation, efficiency with precision in her oral advocacy and consistent fairness in her dealings with all defence lawyers. Elise is highly regarded for her ability to efficiently assess briefs of evidence and provide advice as to the best strategy to resolve a matter without the need for a trial.

Elise has consistently achieved exceptional outcomes for clients by having charges discontinued outright or downgraded to reflect the essential criminality involved. Elise has appeared as counsel in every jurisdiction, including as junior counsel in the High Court of Australia. Elise is passionate about defending the presumption of innocence and achieving results that, at first blush, otherwise seem unattainable.

Elise exercises a high degree of humility about her achievements, secure in the knowledge that her clients know the feats which have been accomplished and the passion with which she strived to those outcomes. Elise’s tenacity is motivated by a desire to champion the humanity and goals of her clients, against a legislative framework that is increasingly impinging upon basic freedoms and civil liberties. Elise understands that in building a trusting working relationship with her clients, it is important to engage with timeliness, candour and authenticity, modelling every aspect of her practice on the type of lawyer she would want for herself or a loved one should the need arise.

Elise is a member of the Criminal Lawyers’ Association of Western Australia and the Law Society of Western Australia.