Former federal attorney-general Christian Porter will return to private legal practice after he leaves politics at the federal election and, according to statements to a recent hearing in the WA District Court, may act as legal counsel in a major trial that may be held even before polling day.
According to a transcript of a WA District Court mentions hearing on February 7 in a major criminal case involving three men alleged to have broken into a Perth firearms shop and stole at least 100 firearms, Mr Porter may be acting as lead counsel for one of the defendants in the case which is set down for hearing on May 12, and which is expected to take six weeks.
A transcript of the hearing obtained by 7.30 reveals an exchange where the prosecution asks who will be counsel for the defence at trial, saying "the state was hoping to liaise with defence counsel in relation to possible witness statements which can be read into evidence, so it was just seeking confirmation from the defence as to who will be acting at trial".
Seamus Rafferty, an instructing solicitor for one of the defendants, tells Chief Judge Julie Wager, "Mr Porter will be counsel with Ms Stynes as his junior.
"He can't file a notice of acting [as counsel] at this stage for obvious reasons, but as soon as he can, he will."
Later, Judge Wager asks Mr Rafferty: "You're not going to know about counsel until everybody knows a little bit more about the world really, are you?"
"As soon as the election's called, your Honour," Mr Rafferty responds.
"Then things go straight into play and I understand that will be early April."
Judge Wager asks Mr Rafferty what will happen "if something goes wrong there"?
"Then I'm going to get stuck," he responds. "I'll deal with it.
'After politics I am intending to return to private legal practice'
In response to questions on Tuesday night, Mr Porter said he had "not yet accepted nor worked on any briefs and do not intend to do so until I am no longer a member of parliament which occurs, as the [Clerk of the House of Representative's] office will confirm, on the calling of the election and the dissolution of the parliament".
"After politics I am intending to return to private legal practice. This is well known and I have been approached by a number of people with a number of potential future briefs. Obviously what briefs are ultimately accepted and when I commence appearance work will depend upon the timing of when the election is called," he said.
In a further set of questions, he was asked how it might be that he was being nominated by instructing solicitors as the lead counsel in the case, when he said he had not accepted or worked on any briefs.
Mr Porter replied: "For those people that have approached me, where I have indicated a willingness to potentially take the matter on, I have been clear that I cannot make any guarantee or file a notice of appearance or accept and prepare the matter until the election is called and I am no longer a Member of Parliament."
7.30 asked Mr Porter to clarify whether he could rule out acting in the case.
"You ask if 'I am definitely not taking the case'; the fact is I may well act in the matter but whether I do will depend on when the election is called," he said.
The election is expected to be called shortly after a three-day sitting following the federal budget being brought down on March 29. Depending on exactly when the election was called, it could be held on May 7, 14 or 21.
Federal MPs are not barred in any way from taking on outside work while they are in parliament — a hangover from the days when many MPs were farmers — though they must disclose if they do, once they are remunerated for it. And any job that involves lobbying for any vested interest is frowned upon.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Mr Porter has not made any new or relevant declarations on his members' interest statement.
"Members retiring from politics planning for their next employment is completely orthodox and the list of attorney-generals on the both sides of the house that have gone back to legal practice even after significant stints in parliament is a long list," he said.
Mr Porter would cease being the member for the West Australian seat of Pearce as soon as the election is called and the current parliament is dissolved, most likely sometime between April 1 and 3.
However, if the Prime Minister decides to let the parliament sit for two scheduled weeks in April — in the weeks starting April 4 and 11 — the election could be held as late as May 21.
But while it is indeed common for retiring MPs, including attorneys-general, to plan for their next employment, and particularly to return to the law, the speed of Mr Porter's return, based on the mention on February 7, would seem particularly quick.
Trial could require 'six weeks of preparation'
Some legal practitioners have questioned whether Mr Porter would have sufficient time to prepare for such a complex case between the dissolving of the parliament on, say April 1, and the start of the trial on May 12.
Barrister Geoffrey Watson says of a trial like the one foreshadowed in Perth: "If you're talking about a six-week criminal case, you're talking about probably at least six weeks of solid preparation before the commencement of the trial."
"A lot of barristers would take longer than that: more experienced barristers may be able to do it in a shorter period. But that's a rough and ready rule: six weeks in preparation for a six-week trial," he said.
"The kind of material that you've got to get on top of for a trial of this kind is just immense. There'd be a huge number of statements, many of them are going to be lay [personal or witness] statements, but many of them also will be highly technical, forensic, scientific statements.
"And there's got to be some way of working your way through it so that you understand what parts of that evidence can be posted, on what grounds you can oppose it.
"It's a huge amount of work. It's tiring, it's difficult and it requires high levels of concentration.
"More importantly, if you're talking about a six-week trial starting on a particular date, because if you're lead counsel, you've got a role in determining the strategy. And the selection of expert witnesses.
"You're really involved on a regular basis, maybe two major phone calls a week, for months before the trial even starts."
