This article examines the various ways in which victims have been integrated into adversarial proceedings in common law jurisdictions. The provision of victim impact statements has been the main way through which victims of crime have been afforded some role in court proceedings. The recent rise of victim lawyers across various common law jurisdictions holds greater promise by granting the victim actual standing and rights of representation by private counsel throughout the trial process – from pre-trial hearings through to sentencing and appeal. Comparisons to civil law jurisdictions will suggest how victim lawyers may be successfully integrated into adversarial systems. Victim lawyers will be examined as an important development in criminal justice that provides for the agency of the victim as a significant stakeholder in adversarial systems of justice.