Sydney's top barristers, solicitors and lawyers who handle the city's biggest cases Winston Terracini attacks prosecution cases vigorously ... and goes the extra mile to get the result. WHEN someone is charged with murder or a serious crime in NSW, these are the lawyers who get the phone call - either get them out of jail or put them behind bars. The Sunday Telegraph has compiled a list of the state's top criminal prosecutors and defence lawyers. We consulted with current and former Department of Public Prosecution lawyers, and legal minds in private practice. We asked for their opinion on their colleagues and opponents, including who they hated going up against, who they considered the best performer and who was the best legal mind for criminal matters. Winston Terracini's client list includes Ron Medich, Gordon Wood, Keli Lane and Marcus Einfeld. Arguably Sydney's most high profile silk, Terracini is often the first port of call for those charged with serious offences. His client list includes Ron Medich, Gordon Wood, Keli Lane and Marcus Einfeld. Terracini's cross examining skills saw Fortunato "Lucky" Gattellari dubbed "Unfortunato" after the veteran barrister tore him apart in the stand during Medich's committal hearing. " (He) attacks prosecution cases vigorously ... and goes the extra mile to get the result - that's why people hire him," one former opponent said. Turnbull represents Lian Bin "Robert" Xie who is accused of murdering five members of the Lin family. The barrister's recent results make for good reading and include the acquittal of Rebels bikie Ricky Anthony Ciano after was charged with allegedly shooting a rival in a Kings Cross strip joint. Retired DPP lawyer Peter Stanhope said Turnbull was "a gentlemen 's gentleman - he fights fair but with panache." "When we went head to head, it was like that Bugs Bunny cartoon where the sheep dog and coyote went at each other's throats all day but then clocked off and were mates," Mr Stanhope said. Bret Walker represented Greg Bird in his case against a former girlfriend. Recognised as one of Australia's best lawyers, Walker has a massive range of clients on his CV. Regarded as a High Court specialist, he has also made appearances for former Cronulla Sharks player Greg Bird who was acquitted of charges he allegedly glassed his then girlfriend Katie Milligan. "He basically specialises in everything and judges like his intellect," said one lawyer. Recently, he produced a report into the ill-fated London Olympics swimming campaign which was received by Australian Olympic Committee in August. An appeals specialist, Game had Gordon Wood acquitted on appeal of his conviction for the murder of his former girlfriend Caroline Byrne. He is also briefed to appear in the appeal of hoax collar-bomber Paul Douglas Peters. One DPP lawyer said: "He is able to find fault in other's decisions and convince a panel of judges he's right. That's not easy to specialise in. He had rugby league star and Manly Sea Eagle Brett Stewart acquitted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl following the club's notoriously boozed-up season launch in 2009. Tony Bellanto had Manly Sea Eagle Brett Stewart acquitted of sexually assaulting a teenage gir Source: News Limited If recent form is anything to go by, Temby is worth hiring for his court presence alone. Fortunately for his clients he's also got one of country's' sharpest legal minds. He had accused murderer Paul Mulvihill (who has pleaded not guilty) granted bail on multiple occasions even after the former rugby star repeatedly breached his strict bail conditions. A former head of the Commonwealth DPP, Temby's opponents said "he attacks the crown on every point so you have to be across every detail." One senior counsel said to leave Ms Yehia off our list was like leaving "Cameron Smith out of the Australian (rugby league) team." The NSW Public Defender hit the headlines in May when she fought the matter of William David Bugmy in the High Court. The result of the case meant judges now have to consider an Aboriginal person's background when sentencing which may reduce their jail time. Currently representing Ron Medich in his defence of a murder charge, Boyden is described by those in the legal fraternity as a good legal tactician. "He's got a very good tactical mind (and is) good with strategy - that's probably why Medich hired him," one opponent said. Great advocacy and comes to grips with the evidence. Nick Boyden is currently representing Ron Medich in his defence of a murder charge. Alexander, the long-time legal representative of Kings Cross boss John Ibrahim, and Hanna make the list for keeping two of Ibrahim's siblings and Rodney "Goldie" Atkinson from being convicted of conspiracy to murder. Hanna represented Michael and Fadi Ibrahim while Alexander represented Atkinson. All three walked after Michael Ibrahim and Atkinson were acquitted of conspiring to kill rival John Macris, a former business partner of John Ibrahim. Fadi never made it to trial on account of poor health after being shot a number of times as he sat in his Lamborghini on his Castle Cove drive way in 2009. Atkinson was subsequently jailed for guns charges. Goold was described by a DPP lawyer who opposed him in several matters "the ultimate gentleman ... who always plays fair." He wins court cases too. One of Goold's clients was acquitted of charges he was allegedly involved in a gang of bank robbers who ripped of about $6 million from armoured cash vans. He is currently representing troubled former Olympic swimmer Scott Miller on drugs charges. Galloway and Stewart share an entry for their work on the Anthony Tan and Nathan Reddy murder case. Tan was accused of murdering Rebels bikie Edin "Boz" Smajovic while Reddy was allegedly an accessory. On the eve of the trial starting the case fell apart after their legal teams subpoenaed material which said Smajovic's companion confessed to a police officer that he'd accidentally shot the bikie. The information had been stolen from an unmarked police car and leaked to each man's legal team. They joined the dots and the case collapsed. Mark Tedeschi's scalps include Bruce Burrell, Ivan Milat and Keli Lane. The state's top prosecutor. His scalps include Bruce Burrell, Ivan Milat and Keli Lane, whose appeal is yet to be finalised. He was criticised by the appeal court in the Gordon Wood acquittal where he was accused of overreaching on the case he put forward to have Wood found guilty. But his peers still rate him as "meticulous and very effective with a jury." Fellow crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen SC said: "Even his detractors would wish for him to be the prosecutor if it was one of their loved ones who was the victim of a crime." The revered lawyer of almost four decades has one of the sharpest legal minds and silkiest set of vocal chords in the business, according to his peers. "You ask any juror about his voice - it's so smooth," one of Maxwell's colleagues said. He's like Valium on two legs when he opens in front of juries - he leaves them spellbound. His recent successes include the guilty plea from Kristi Abrahams who admitted to killing her daughter Kiesha and Facebook killer Christopher Dannevig who pleaded guilty to murdering teenager Nona Belomesoff. Cunneen cornered hoax collar-bomber Paul Douglas Peters into pleading guilty last year. He has since appealed. This year she was appointed to head up the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into church child abuse in the Catholic Church. The high-profile prosecutor is in such demand she turned down the job to head the NSW Crime Commission. She also was the prosecutor on noteworthy cases including paedophile Robert "Dolly" Dunn, the so-called "Butcher of Bega," Graeme Reeves and gang rapist Bilal Skaf. Margaret Cunneen convinced hoax collar-bomber Paul Douglas Peters into pleading guilty last year. Leask has made a habit of pursuing murder charges instead of accepting pleas to manslaughter. He's been successful too. He rejected two offers to plea to manslaughter in the case of two men who shot dead Mt Prichard man Wallace Ruiz Sanchez. He was also the crown prosecutor who had the real life incarnations of Underbelly characters Andrew and Anthony Perish sent to jail. "He's high energy and extremely thorough to the point of being obsessive," a colleague said. In the corridors of the DPP building on Liverpool St, crown prosecutor Gina O'Rourke is known for having a forensic eye for detail. At one stage, part of her job was to inspect committal briefs for experienced lawyers to make sure they would stand up to the rigours of a committal hearing. Currently, she's working on a career case as the prosecutor in the Ron Medich murder trial. The gossipmongers at legal watering hole, the Crown Hotel, whisper that they case is "begging for a counsel" but O'Rourke hasn't put a foot wrong. According to one of his colleagues, Thorpe has all the attributes required of a good prosecutor: "patience, intelligence, street smarts, a sense of humour and gets on with everyone from court staff to the judges." His scalps include the murder conviction of Mohammed "Blackie" Fahda who was jailed for shooting western Sydney crime figure Abdul Darwiche 12 times. In 2011, he was the prosecutor in the case of Tamworth mother and daughter Helen Ryan and Coralie Coulter who were jailed for hiring a hitman to kill grazier Jeffrey Ryan. A former Cronulla-based defence solicitor who once played second row for St George Rugby Club's first grade team. He came to be a crown prosecutor after telling peers he would never work for the DPP, one told The Sunday Telegraph. They still remind him. "He's got a good reputation and knows the law," a colleague said. He gets on with defence lawyers because he was one of them and never puts sh** on instructing solicitors. Last month, in a case Hobart worked on, a 66-year-old cancer survivor was sentenced to 30 years jail for murdering a former business partner and the partner's brother. Colleagues say Barrett isn't afraid to take on "impossible cases." "He takes on stuff that other people don't want to touch and that takes balls," one former colleague said. His work on the Michael Allan Jacobs case saw the jury take only two hours to find him guilty of murdering Tamworth policeman David Rixon.