Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer Zali Burrows is ‘seriously ill’ with cancer, a court has heard.
The former political staffer announced earlier in March that Ms Burrows would be brought in to represent him in his upcoming Queensland rape trial after sacking his legal team.
Ms Burrows’ health was revealed during her own legal proceedings in the NSW District Court last week, news.com.au reports.
Judge Judith Gibson told the court the high profile lawyer had been ‘seriously ill for some years’ with a form of cancer which recently required surgery and radiation.
‘The plaintiff’s health problems have taken a great toll not only on her physical health but in terms of her ability to get things done,’ she said.
‘While I accept that she has been conducting matters in other courts, including defamation proceedings in the Federal Court, that does not mean that she is necessarily giving her full and efficient attention to her own defamation action.’
The publication reports that Judge Gibson recognised Ms Burrows was focusing on Mr Lerhmann’s case instead of her own.
‘A saying that I recall used to be favoured by one of the more colourful members of the criminal bar, in times of crisis, was that “the cobbler’s children are the worst shod”,’ she told the court.
The high profile criminal lawyer is suing Adam Houda, a Sydney-based criminal lawyer, in a defamation case over his posts on X about a Sydney Morning Herald column.
Mr Houda had sought a dismissal on the grounds of ‘due dispatch’, meaning that the case was being continually delayed by Ms Burrows.
Ms Burrows is also representing Lehrmann as he appeals his failed Federal Court defamation action against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over her Brittany Higgins interview.
More to come.