Shane Drumgold unable to practice as barrister after resigning as ACT DPP

The man responsible for prosecuting Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial could face difficulty if he wants to practise law again.

Shane Drumgold SC’s legal future is in doubt after the ACT Bar Association signalled the findings of a high-profile inquiry could hinder his ability to practise.

Mr Drumgold resigned as the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions last week after the inquiry into the handling of Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial made several adverse findings against him.

The inquiry, chaired by Walter Sofronoff KC, found that he had “knowingly lied” to the Supreme Court Chief Justice and had “lost objectivity and did not act with fairness and detachment as was required by his role”.

Association president Marcus Hassell said in a statement that Mr Drumgold’s certificate to practise as a barrister was only entitled to be used while employed in his role as the top prosecutor.

Shane Drumgold will have to reapply to practise as a barrister from September 1. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Mr Drumgold SC is presently the holder of a restricted (government) practising certificate, valid until 30 June 2024, entitling him to practise as a barrister in the ACT but only whilst employed as or for the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions,” Mr Hassall said.

“The announcement of Mr Drumgold’s resignation from the office of Director of Public Prosecutions, to take effect from 1 September 2023, means that from that date Mr Drumgold will no longer have capacity to practise as a barrister in the ACT.”

The bar council noted with “grave concern” the findings included in the report and indicated they would be factored into any future application by Mr Drumgold.

“Any application by Mr Drumgold for a new or unrestricted practising certificate will require the approval of the ACT Bar Council and will necessitate consideration of the findings contained in the Sofronoff report,” Mr Hassall said.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Drumgold denied any wrongdoing.

“While I acknowledge I made mistakes, I strongly dispute that I engaged in deliberate or underhanded conduct in the trial or that I was dishonest,” he said.

Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting his former colleague Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.

His trial was aborted last October due to jury misconduct and a planned retrial was abandoned due to concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.

The charge was dropped and there have been no findings made against Mr Lehrmann.

Walter Sofronoff made several adverse findings against Mr Drumgold.

Mr Sofronoff found the decision to charge and prosecute Mr Lehrmann was the correct course of action but made several serious findings of misconduct against Mr Drumgold.

He found Mr Drumgold “deliberately advanced a false claim of legal professional privilege and misled the court” to deny defence access to a police investigation document.

A decision to claim a note about a conversation with Lisa Wilkinson ahead of her Logies speech was written “contemporaneously” when it was made days after the fact was also criticised.

“I find that his instructions to his counsel to make the submission that his conduct involved nothing more than a ‘mistake’ demonstrates a grievous lack of insight into his behaviour and shows that, even now, he is not prepared to admit to what he did,” the report said.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr declined to rule out charges for Mr Drumgold when asked at a press conference marking the report’s official release on Monday.

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said Mr Drumgold’s position was “no longer tenable”.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr declined to rule out further action. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Sofronoff inquiry was sparked after Mr Drumgold wrote a letter to the ACT Police Chief Neil Gaughan in November, expressing concerns about police behaviour and the process leading up to Mr Lehrmann’s trial.

In the letter, Mr Drumgold raised suspicion of political interference and accused police of trying to pressure him against proceeding.

Mr Sofronoff was tasked with examining the conduct of the prosecution, police and the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates.

The inquiry did not make adverse findings against Ms Yates and found the police performed their duties in “good faith” and “put together a sound case”.

But it found there was a confusion over the legal test to charge a suspect and recommended reform to define the threshold.

Mr Gaughan on Tuesday welcomed the findings but acknowledged the impact of the report could lead to people not wanting to come forward to report sexual assaults.

“We are committed to ongoing reform which improves the way police operate and conduct criminal investigations,” he said.

“Every investigation presents individual challenges and sexual assault investigations can be complex. This investigation was no exception.”