Police arrived at Narelle Crescent in the western Sydney suburb of Greenacre at 10.25am on Wednesday to find Mr Abbas with gunshot wounds.
Detective Superintendent Adam Johnson said the 31-year-old criminal defence lawyer was outside his home and about to get into his car when he was approached by an unknown person and shot.
"It is a brazen, clearly targeted shooting," Det Supt Johnson told reporters.
"The motive and the reasoning behind it at this stage is too early to speculate."
Mr Abbas was still conscious when police arrived.
"We now have one, if not more offenders on the run."
Underworld figure Mahmoud "Brownie" Ahmad was shot dead on the same street in Greenacre in April 2022.
Det Supt Johnson said it was too early in the investigation to say if the attacks are linked.
On Sunday three people were also shot in Greenacre, leaving one 25-year-old man critically injured, while a 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman were also injured.
The city's southwest has been grappling with a gang-linked war involving families that has claimed at least 11 lives in recent years and flared up again in the past few months.
Mr Abbas has represented several high-profile clients including members of an alleged ISIS-inspired terror cell charged with plotting to destroy Sydney landmarks, and controversial former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer.
In 2021 he appeared for former NRL player Jamil Hopoate on drug charges.
He has also represented Sydney underworld figures, including handyman Ahmed Jaghbir in his trial over the assassination of Kemel Barakat.
Mr Abbas began his career working as a junior lawyer for Sydney criminal lawyer Brett Galloway.
Officers from Bankstown police station and the state's criminal squads are investigating.
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