<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former gangland lawyer-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo has lost her lawsuit against the state of Victoria after claiming police compromised her safety when she was </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/tony-mokbel-life-and-times-of-gangland-figure/e372bd7f-ae68-4d00-b502-a7709cdaae75" rel="" target="_blank" title="exposed to have double-crossed clients"><span>exposed to have double-crossed clients</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The former barrister sued the state for at least $800,000 in damages over claims she was groomed by police to become a human source in late 2005.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Also known as 'Lawyer X', she claimed police exploited her vulnerabilities and distress due to close ties to gangland figures, including Tony Mokbel, by offering her protection, support and promises to protect her identity in exchange for information on her gangland clients.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/explosions-ring-out-across-irans-capital-as-israel-claims-it-is-attacking-the-country/49e40c56-6e92-46ca-8d1c-b4edef51d5a2"><strong><span>Israel launches 'preemptive strike' against Iran, defence minister says</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But her cover was blown in March 2019 when she was exposed as 'Informer 3838' and 'Lawyer X'.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice Melinda Richards today dismissed Gobbo's lawsuit as she handed down her judgment in Victoria's Supreme Court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said once Gobbo decided to become an informer "exposure was an inherent risk".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/nicola-gobbos-lawyer-x-lawsuit-against-state-dismissed/438f6677-9859-4ec4-8d7a-df7d19b6a9d4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So the state can't be held liable. Therefore it is unnecessary to assess damages," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gobbo was registered three times as a police informer in the 1990s to mid-2000s, when she gave handlers information about underworld figures.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the judge-alone trial, her lawyers said their client suffered psychological injury since her double identity was exposed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was forced into the witness protection program with her two children and her depression worsened as they moved overseas for their safety.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The state has fought each of Gobbo's claims, arguing she voluntarily became an informer and she could have left the role at any time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/air-india-plane-crash-everything-we-know-miraculous-survival-passenger-vishwash-kumar-ramesh/126debf7-2bd5-4ebc-9e50-a0c7f93bd270"><strong><span>Everything we know about the 'miraculous' survival of Air India passenger</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the trial, Gobbo gave evidence by video live stream from a secret location with her image hidden inside the court to protect her new identity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gobbo signed the bar roll at 25, becoming the youngest woman in the state to do so, and quickly found herself representing gangland clients, including the Mokbel family and Carl Williams' clan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A royal commission found her position as both an informer and a barrister could have affected more than 1000 convictions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former clients Tony Mokbel, Faruk Orman and Zlate Cvetanovski have successfully had convictions overturned since her role was uncovered in March 2019.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gobbo has been ordered to pay the costs for the state.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 2010, Gobbo sued Victoria Police, claiming they failed to protect her as a witness and settled out of court for almost $3 million.</span></div></div>