In September 2018, Ms Morgana Wilby took her own life after suffering from acute mental illness following significant stressors brought on by her new role at the Victorian Coroner’s Court. An investigation into her death by coroner Ian James Guy concluded that she was “entitled to and deserved far better” as an employee of the court. 

At the beginning of 2018, Ms Wilby was asked to take on the role of acting senior legal counsel on top of her role as principal in-house solicitor. She applied and accepted on the belief that it would get her further to her dream role as coroner and that the dualled workload would only last three weeks – it would last much longer at the cost of her life. 

“What was a dream job turned within a matter of weeks to an unimaginable nightmare. With no prior mental health issues and with the responsibilities of a new role, Ms Wilby changed from a high-achieving, vibrant, vicarious individual to one suffering from acute mental illness,” Coroner Guy wrote in his findings, recently published and distributed. 

Within a short period of time, Ms Wilby became highly stressed, withdrawn and began suffering from insomnia. By late April 2018, she had returned to her former role but the damage had been done. In May 2018, she commenced sick leave with an intention of returning to full-time work by the end of the year. In September 2018, three days before she was due to return, Ms Wilby, aged just 45, took her own life. 

Toxic cultures and the ‘alarming’ events at the Coroner’s Court

Before commencing the role of acting senior legal counsel, Ms Wilby was already used to long hours, often working late into the night and on weekends. She had many annual leave days left over, suggesting that she did not often take time each year, and vocally told those closest to her that she “absolutely loved the coronial jurisdiction”. 

In February 2018, however, she essentially began performing three roles: her first role as principal in-house solicitor, the acting legal role and manager of a team she became responsible for. Although accustomed to those long hours, her working day increased from 8am to 9pm, often extending to beyond midnight. Severe insomnia began. 

When the three-week period was due to end, the then acting executive officer emailed the staff to advise that Ms Wilby would continue, and no end date was specified. Later that same day, Ms Wilby was found in a “distressed state at work unable to speak and unresponsive”. Staff reported that she was “shaking and incoherent”. 

The executive officer took her home and advised that she should stay away for as long as she needed and left her with the details of a support line. However, “consistent with the many observations about her concerns of reputational damage to her career”, Ms Wilby returned to work the following day feeling “embarrassed and humiliated”. 

The executive officer said he had made inquiries with a colleague who indicated there were relationship issues at home that Ms Wilby had been seeking counselling for. The coroner’s report, however, was unsure how the incorrect information was circulated as medical reports and her partner indicated the only stressors were with her work life. 

Despite the “alarming” events of that day, Ms Wilby’s multiple roles remained the same for five more weeks. While the coroner’s investigation revealed that legal staff offered their assistance, Ms Wilby turned them down on account of their own workloads. 

“Ms Wilby’s desire to maintain her reputation in the eyes of the court, and not be seen as having failed in that role, may have also been a factor. It is however evident from a document found in her briefcase after her death that she was not receiving assistance she needed and other lawyers had responsibilities of the court,” Coroner Guy said. 

As the rumours of relationship issues continued in the workplace, Ms Wilby’s condition continued to deteriorate at home “with obsessive thoughts about what had happened, and its impact on her career”. It was during this time that she disclosed to her partner she had a serious failed suicide attempt at home, but she did not tell her doctors. 

In the days leading up to her death, Ms Wilby came to the view that she was not fit for returning to work and was considering either asking for 12 months’ leave without usual pay or lodging a WorkCover claim. Both options left her with more anguish as she had believed that it would “adversely affect her career prospects at the court”. 

Ms Wilby said she had been ‘set up to fail’ in the new role

In notes found in her briefcase after her death, Ms Wilby wrote that she had been “set up to fail”. One document then lists her concerns with the court, including its temporary staff not being trained appropriately, that staffing priorities were not met, that coroners at the court were unhappy and there was an overload of emails from managers. 

She wrote that she agreed to take on the role because she knew she could do a “good job at it”, adding that while she knew she was walking into a “dysfunctional team” with a host of issues, she saw it as a challenge and an opportunity to improve. 

However, Ms Wilby went on to say that she felt it was challenging because her former position had not been filled, meaning she had to try and do both jobs. She said it was not feasible, especially as it was during a time when legal teams needed her dedicated attention. She added that any usual support was only sporadic in the prior years. 

In medical reports, Ms Wilby explained that the change at work was difficult while also requiring her to manage a team of 24 on short notice during “volatile times”. The notes indicated that she believed the toxic culture and leadership style change had come in with the new chief executive, who had on a number of occasions yelled at her.

It is evident that the difficulties within the court were not limited to her time and can be traced back to at least 2015. Others on sick leave during her time at the court included the former CEO, the former principal registrar, a former senior legal counsel and the acting principal registrar. There also appeared to have been four acting CEOs from late 2017 to February 2018 and numerous legal staff quit over the prior two years. 

In 2015, an external management consulting team conducted a survey that discovered “alarming statements” of dissatisfaction, due mostly to the workplace culture, staff with very low morale and unaddressed inappropriate workplace behaviour. 

Coroner Guy said it would be “simplistic and wrong” to assume that Ms Wilby’s suicide was a case of a lawyer who “merely struggled with a difficult management role”. It may also be wrong to assume it was for her perfectionist trait or for a desire to maintain her reputation in the court. Instead, it was for a culture that was “at the time deeply flawed”. 

“It is hoped that the family may take some small comfort in knowing that the significant changes have been made to the structure and work environment of the court that will enhance and improve wellbeing of staff,” Corner Guy concluded. 

Help is available. Contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 224 636. There are also resources available for lawyers on the bar associations and law societies websites as well as with Minds Count and other legal mental health institutions.