Suspended lawyer’s appeal goes to court in March

SUSPENDED Hobart lawyer Barbara Etter will likely be back in the Supreme Court at about the same time as her notorious former client Susan Neill-Fraser.

Last month, the court ordered the former corruption watchdog boss to hand over a case file to investigators, at the same time quashing her bid to overturn a ban from practising law.

Tasmania’s Legal Profession Board launched an in- vestigation into Ms Etter – the state’s first Integrity Commission CEO and former NeillFraser lawyer – last year.

The inquiry was sparked by a complaint about her conduct during the inquest into the death of Sally Greer.

An investigator made sev- eral requests for Ms Etter’s case file but she did not comply, saying the notice “was fishing and there was some vendetta”.

As a result, Ms Etter’s certificate to practise law was suspended by the Tasmanian Law Society at the direction of the board. She took the board to the Supreme Court to stay the suspension while the board sought a court order for her to produce the file.

Justice Greg Geason found against Ms Etter in both cases in December, but she has now appealed against the decisions.

A hearing before the Full Court has been fixed for March — the same month convicted murderer Neill-Fraser’s last bid for freedom also continues.

Ms Etter left the Neill-Fraser defence team in June last year and her exit has never been explained.