Lorraine Liddle is the daughter of artist Bessie Liddle and Arthur Liddle. In 1986 she became the Northern Territory's first Aboriginal legal practitioner, travelling between communities as a bush lawyer in Central Australia. She was formerly employed by the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service in Alice Springs (CAALAS) until a dispute in 1999. In 1993 Helen Chryssides wrote a book, Local Heroes, which included a profile of Liddle entitled 'Lorraine Liddle: Bush Lawyer'.