High-profile lawyer Bruce McWilliam’s family has been embroiled in a criminal trial in Sydney, with a former assistant to his father-in-law, property developer Thomas Breuer, accused of siphoning more than $1.2 million from his accounts to spend on clothes and tech products.

Cheree Curran, who was Mr Breuer’s executive assistant and managed his finances between 2015 and 2021, is accused of making hundreds of transactions – many disguised as gifts to family members – that transferred funds into one of his old bank accounts.