Barrister Sue Chrysanthou says she was warned off Porter legal fight by fellow barrister

A leading barrister says she had been warned off taking on Christian Porter as a client after a lawyer told her one thing about his friends, a court heard.

Barrister Sue Chrysanthou was warned off taking on Christian Porter as a client because the friends of a woman who had accused him of rape were acting “like a cult”, a court has heard.

Former Attorney-General Mr Porter is suing the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan for defamation over a report which said an unnamed cabinet minister was being investigated over historical rape allegations.

The now Industry Minister outed himself as the Minister in question at a press conference five days later during which he denied the allegations made by the alleged woman before her death last year.

Jo Dyer, the director of the Adelaide Writers Week, has intervened in the case and is seeking orders in the Federal Court to prevent prominent barrister Ms Chrysanthou from representing Mr Porter because of what she describes as a conflict of interest.

Jo Dyer is attempting to stop Sue Chrysanthou from representing Christian Porter. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker.

Ms Dyer was friends with the woman, who alleged that she was raped by Mr Porter while she was a teenager in 1988.

She says that the woman told her of the allegations before her death.

Ms Dyer, who is expected to be an ABC witness in the defamation trial, has said that Ms Chrysanthou gave her free legal advice about an article in The Australian newspaper.

Ms Chrysanthou denies any conflict of interest and that she had any confidential information.

She said that fellow defamation barrister Matthew Richardson, a friend of Ms Chrysanthou, had told her not to act for Mr Porter because the woman’s supporters had made threats to sully her name.

“I think that conversation you’re referring to, he was upset because he told me that he was worried for me,” Ms Chrysanthou told the Federal Court on Wednesday.

“And that his friends were upset or acting like a cult on this topic.

“And they wouldn’t let it go and they would talk to the media and make it very bad for me.

“He was very upset how it would impact me and how it would impact him.”

Former Attorney-General Christian Porter is suing the ABC for defamation. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage.

Ms Chrysanthou told the court that her conference with Ms Dyer was “not particularly” memorable and it went for no more than an hour.

The court heard that Mr Richardson and another barrister Nicholas Owens had advised her not to take on the case.

She denied she had a conflict of interest because Ms Dyer was not a party to Mr Porter’s legal proceedings against the ABC.

She added that she did not believe she was in possession of any confidential information because it was already in the public arena through the press.

“Matthew was trying to talk me out of being in the matter because of his concerns for me and what a mess it was,” Ms Chrysanthou said.

“He thought his friends would make public statements about it that would defame me.”

The hearing continues.

Originally published as Barrister Sue Chrysanthou says she was warned off Porter legal fight by fellow barrister