 Bourke completed her Articles of Clerkship at Ford & Co, solicitors (later Nevett Ford) and subsequently worked for that firm as a solicitor and as an associate partner.She was called to the Victorian Bar in 1989, and practiced as a barrister for 18 years, principally in the common law jurisdictions of the Victorian courts, before being appointed to bench of the County Court of Victoria (2007) by the Attorney-General of Victoria, Rob Hulls.Bourke was appointed Chair of the Bookmakers and Bookmakers' Clerks Registration Committee in 2000.