[10] Caine, also known by the aliases Sean Vincent and Adrian Bligh,[11] had extensive connections within the Melbourne criminal milieu, which were often highlighted in media reports about his life and death.
[19] In 2005, Garde-Wilson was found guilty of Contempt of court after refusing to testify in the trial of the two men charged with the murder of her boyfriend Lewis Caine, claiming that she feared for her life.
In response to the Commission's findings and the subsequent impact on public trust in the justice system,[26] Garde-Wilson, along with other prominent Australian lawyers, called for significant reforms.
[27] In July 2023, following the closure of the Lawyer X Office of the Special Investigator, these legal practitioners, including Garde-Wilson, demanded an official apology from former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, emphasizing the need for reforms to restore integrity within the judicial system.
[8][28] Convicted in 2012, Karam was implicated in smuggling 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy pills, valued at $122 million,[29] hidden in tomato tins – a scheme purportedly orchestrated by the Calabrian Mafia.
[30] This case drew significant media attention due to the scale of the drug importation and the controversial involvement of Nicola Gobbo, who provided information to police about her clients, including Karam.
[31][32] In 2019, Athar Almatrah was represented by Garde-Wilson in a case involving an alleged setup using a fake Instagram account to ambush Rocco Curra, a member of the Mongols motorcycle gang.
[42] In the case, Justice Bernard Murphy had ordered Google, which didn’t object to the application, to provide the registration information of the account along with IP addresses of the reviewer, however it wasn’t enough to identify who was behind the posts.
[43] Ms Garde-Wilson said in a statement to The Age newspaper that she would issue proceedings against Google for destroying the account data and failing to save the reviewer's information in a 'timely way'.
These portrayals contributed to her recognition beyond the legal sphere, highlighting her connections to high-profile criminal cases and bringing her career to the attention of a broader audience.