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The Victorian Legal Services Board has requested that Nicola Gobbo be removed from the roll of practitioners as soon as possible given substantial public interest.
In an application hearing on Monday, 19 October the Victorian Legal Services Board’s lawyer said that it is in the public’s interest for the Supreme Court of Victoria to make their decision on whether to strike Ms Gobbo from the roll immediately. Based on the application, the court looks to approve her removal with reasons handed down on Tuesday, 20 October.
“The public interest in having the role amended or further changed to reflect our current understanding of the character of [Ms Gobbo’s] is appropriate in the circumstances to move in the way we have and in the timeline that we have,” Ms Bennett said.
On the question of whether the court should wait until after the royal commission hands down its final report in November, Ms Bennett said: “[The commission] may well have more to say about the conduct of Ms Gobbo’s conduct over time but we have not found it necessary to replicate that process.”
Tim Tobin SC, appearing on behalf of Ms Gobbo, confirmed that she does not oppose her removal and that she accepts the “inevitability of her conduct requiring a sanction”.
Ms Gobbo has not held a practising certificate since 2014 and has not been permitted to practise since, a decade after she became an informant against her clients.
The news comes as the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants (RCMPI) commissioner Margaret McMurdo prepares to publish the final report at the end of November examining the extent to which Ms Gobbo worked with Victoria Police and breached her obligations as a legal practitioner while informing against her clients.
More to come.
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Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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