Vic Police lawyer cleared in Lawyer X saga

VICTORIA Police's top lawyer Fin McRae has been formally cleared over his involvement in the force's handling of the Lawyer X scandal. Mr McRae was referred to the Victorian Legal Services Board by royal commissioner Margaret McMurdo after she found his involvement in the Nicola Gobbo police informer saga fell short of expectations. "Having conducted a thorough examination of these matters, we have determined Mr McRae's conduct does not constitute unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct and we will not be taking disciplinary action," a VLSB+C spokesman said on Thursday. The Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants in 2020 investigated Victoria Police's handling of former gangland lawyer–turned–police informant Ms Gobbo, and the push to turn her into a prosecution witness. "Mr McRae's handling of Victoria Police's disclosure to the (Department of Public Prosecutions) along with Ms Gobbo's civil litigation, fell short of the commission's expectations of the most senior lawyer in Victoria Police," Ms McMurdo wrote in the final report. Ms McMurdo described it as regrettable that he had not told prosecutors at a meeting in June 2012, saying that despite real concerns for Ms Gobbo's safety, disclosing her informer status to the prosecutors could not be seriously considered a security risk. Mr McRae was one of more than 100 witnesses at the inquiry. He broke down and left the hearing room at one point during his evidence. "As far as I was concerned she as a person at risk," he told the inquiry, describing crime–focused investigators as relentless in their pursuit of using her as a witness. "The 10 years of safety issues has been very difficult for me and just reliving it, especially those early days, has been difficult." Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton told ABC Radio he was not surprised by the legal board's findings. "He's a man of immense integrity and he did everything he could throughout that period to be as transparent and provide clear and strong advice," he said. "It's great that he's been publicly vindicated." – AAP

Vic Police lawyer cleared in Lawyer X saga

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