Nicola Gobbo struck from bar roll after judge found her conduct appalling
The high-profile lawyer who caused the Lawyer X scandal has had her name struck off the bar roll. A judge found her professional conduct ‘appalling’ and said her reputation could not be rehabilitated.
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Corrupt barrister Nicola Gobbo’s name has officially been struck off the bar roll.
Marking the end of her career as a lawyer, the Supreme Court on Wednesday approved the removal of her name for the “fundamental and appalling breaches” of her responsibility to her clients during her time as the doublecrossing lawyer dubbed Lawyer X.
Justice Jacinta Forbes said Gobbo had no prospect of regaining her reputation.
The judgment follows the Victorian Legal Services Board belatedly lodging paperwork to remove Gobbo’s name from the roll of practitioners.
Gobbo, who ceased renewing her practising licence in 2014, has not officially acted as a lawyer since then.
But despite the controversial lawyer failing to renew her licence, she remained on the bar roll, which lawyers sign upon being admitted to practice law.
The board earlier told the Supreme Court that Gobbo should be removed from the roll immediately as a matter of public interest.
Justice Jacinta Forbes said “duplicitous nature of the conduct” of Gobbo “demonstrated partiality and so lacked honesty”.
“There can be no question that by her conduct Ms Gobbo is not a fit and proper person,” she said.
“The conduct demonstrated partiality and so lacked honesty. It lacked a knowledge of what ought to be done and in executing her duties she did so without the ability to maintain loyalty and confidentiality.”
Justice Forbes said Gobbo’s name was “not capable of rehabilitation”.
Gobbo did not oppose the removal of her name, with her lawyer Tim Tobin QC saying she had accepted the ‘’inevitability’’ of being sanctioned for her conduct.
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