Sydney Lawyer Leigh Johnson found not fit to hold practising certificate
High-profile Sydney solicitor Leigh Johnson, who shot to fame representing one of the men who brutally murdered beauty queen Anita Cobby, has had her practising certificate suspended.
Central Sydney
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High-profile Sydney solicitor Leigh Johnson, who shot to fame representing murdered beauty queen Anita Cobby’s killer, has had her practising certificate suspended.
The decision, which was handed down by the Council of the Law Society of NSW on March 27, found Ms Johnson was “not a fit and proper person to hold a practising certificate”.
A spokesman from The Law Society of NSW said they it acted to protect clients of legal practices by taking appropriate action under the Legal Profession Uniform Law and Rules.
“The suspension of a solicitor’s practising certificate may be necessary in the interests of protecting the public and maintaining public confidence in the integrity of the legal profession,” the spokesman said.
“There will be no further comment at this time.”
Ms Johnson, of Leigh Johnson lawyers, was admitted as a lawyer in 1984 and had an office in Elizabeth Street, Sydney.
It’s understood she filed for bankruptcy on September 30, 2022 and had to inform the law society within a week of being declared insolvent.
She then had 28 days to show cause why she should not be suspended from practising law.
According to the substance of conduct matter, the reason she was suspended was a result of “the automatic show cause event that occurred on September 30, 2022”.
Ms Johnson shot to prominence in 1987 when she represented Gary Murphy, one of five men jailed for life for the brutal rape and murder of Sydney nurse Anita Cobby.
She also was found by the Supreme Court in a civil case in 2019 to have been involved in a sports betting scheme with convicted conman Peter Foster in which investors lost millions of dollars.
One of those investors was in the process of trying to recover money and declare her bankrupt when Ms Johnson voluntarily bankrupted herself.
In 2021 she lost an appeal against a finding in the Supreme Court that she and Foster were involved in misleading or deceptive conduct relating to the sports betting operation called “Sports Trading Club”.
Ms Johnson has vehemently denied she did anything wrong during her involvement with STC.
No criminal charges were laid.
When asked for comment Ms Johnson said her name was copyrighted, and that if we used her name, we would be charged with copyright infringement.
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