As first reported last night (Monday, 14 October), the Bar Council for the ACT Bar Association has found that there is “no reasonable likelihood” that former ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC will be found guilty of either unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct by the territory’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Eleven grounds of complaint had been brought against Drumgold (pictured) pertaining to the prosecution of former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann in relation to the alleged rape of his then-colleague, Brittany Higgins, in Parliament House.

Lehrmann has continued to strenuously deny he raped Higgins.

In April, Justice Michael Lee ruled in Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten, finding the former political staffer was found, on a civil standard of proof, to have raped Higgins.

Lehrmann’s appeal process is ongoing.

As reported by Lawyers Weekly this morning (Tuesday, 15 October), Lehrmann’s lawyer, Zali Burrows, yesterday told the Federal Court the only way he could come up with $200,000 to secure his appeal hearing would be if he turned to “OnlyFans or something silly like that”.

Among the grounds of complaint made by the Bar Association against the former ACT DPP were that Drumgold had allegedly “knowingly made” misleading statements to the ACT Supreme Court regarding the Lehrmann trial, allegedly failing to take all necessary steps to correct the misleading statements, allegedly “procured a false or misleading affidavit” from a junior DPP staff member, and allegedly making positive assertions of fact in the Lehrmann trial without a proper basis for doing so.

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In the reasons for its decision, dated 10 October 2024, the Bar Council noted that – even when considering grounds eight and nine, which asserted Drumgold had notified a journalist about a letter he’d sent to the Chief Police Office “containing sensitive allegations” relating to the trial, and authorised the release of an unredacted copy of the letter without first consulting the Chief Police Officer and individuals named in the letter – there is no reasonable likelihood that Drumgold will be found guilty by ACAT.

The reasons detailed that Drumgold’s communication with the journalist and his decision to authorise the FOI release “was ‘conduct engaged in the exercise of an executive or administrative function’, and therefore is not ‘conduct happening in connection with the practice of law’”. The Bar Council thus surmised his actions cannot be “unsatisfactory conduct” for the purposes of the Legal Profession Act.

To this end, the first 10 grounds of complaint were dismissed.

The 11th ground – allegedly providing false evidence in a witness statement to an inquiry chaired by Walter Sofronoff KC, in relation to the release of the letter – was withdrawn, on the basis that there was “no evidence” to consider the allegation’s substance.

In a statement issued to media last night, Drumgold said: “The ACT Bar Association has found there is no evidence to support a finding that I engaged in either professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct in relation to any conduct surrounding the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.”

“I have always maintained that my conduct has been proper and appropriate.”

The aforementioned Sofronoff inquiry made several findings of misconduct against Drumgold in August 2023, but this was appealed.

Drumgold’s appeal, heard by acting Justice Stephen Kaye, enjoyed “substantial success”, and the ACT government was ordered to pay costs, save for any incurred in respect of an abandoned ground.

The challenge of the findings led to another inquiry that found Sofronoff “might have been influenced by the views held and publicly expressed” by a journalist with The Australian.

Sofronoff is now the subject of an investigation into alleged corruption by the ACT Integrity Commission.

The investigation by the ACT Bar Council, Drumgold’s statement argued, was the “first … investigation of the merits of the Sofronoff findings and whether any conduct amounted to either professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct, with the ACT Bar Association concluding that none of the 11 Sofronoff findings examined were made out on the evidence”, he submitted.

News of the Bar Council’s decision also follows the dismissal of defamation proceedings, in June, brought by federal police officers, against Drumgold for his highly publicised criticism of the Australian Federal Police’s alleged conduct during the rape trial.

The statement of claim from the applicants alleged Drumgold’s criticism of their alleged conduct during the trial subjected them to public “ridicule and contempt”, and they reportedly sought $1.42 million in damages.