Legal services watchdog drops charges against former government adviser Tristan Weston

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Legal services watchdog drops charges against former government adviser Tristan Weston

By Adam Cooper
Updated

Victoria's legal services watchdog has dropped charges against former state government adviser Tristan Weston, who was accused of impersonating a lawyer.

Mr Weston, a former police officer and adviser in the Baillieu government who was investigated by the then Office of Police Integrity for his role in undermining one-time top cop Simon Overland, was charged with four counts of engaging in legal practice when he was not a legal practitioner.

Tristan Weston in 2010.

Tristan Weston in 2010.

But a spokesman for the Legal Services Board, which laid the charges, confirmed the charges had been withdrawn. He said they were withdrawn in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.

The Legal Services Board had alleged Mr Weston, 44, last year sat in on a police interview with a man facing criminal charges and told investigators he was the man's lawyer, when he was not qualified.

The board also alleged he engaged in legal correspondence with police on the man's behalf and sat at the bar table in a court room when not qualified.

Mr Weston's lawyer, Michael McNamara, told court earlier this year the charges had damaged his client's reputation and were preventing him from being admitted as a lawyer.

Mr McNamara last month claimed Victoria Police withheld documents related to the case, and said chief commissioner Graham Ashton should have been called before a magistrate to explain why there had been a delay in the case.

The OPI investigated Mr Weston - a one-time adviser to Peter Ryan, the former police minister and deputy premier - in 2012 and found he ran a campaign to undermine Mr Overland in order to have Mr Overland's deputy, Sir Ken Jones, take the top job.

The OPI decided against laying charges against Mr Weston.

Mr Overland and Sir Ken both left Victoria Police in 2011.

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