What is the impact of working on criminal trials? Chief Counsel of Victoria Legal Aid, Tim Marsh, says defending the seemingly indefensible is just part of the job. He recently represented notorious pedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale on 20 counts of child sexual assault. “I was called all manner of names and had accusations levelled at me,” Tim says. “I’ve been spat at, I’ve been abused by a family of victims outside court.” Bill Hosking, former public defender and judge, represented one of the five men charged with the gruesome murder and sexual assault of Anita Cobby. It was a brief he wished he never received, but it was his duty.