A LAWYER'S face turned red and his transition glasses darkened when a jury found him guilty of having stolen about $11,000 from his former employer.
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Late yesterday jurors found Adrian John Hall, 39, guilty by majority of four counts of stealing about $10,780 after 10 hours of deliberations across two days in the Supreme Court in Launceston.
The criminal solicitor originally contested eight counts of stealing last week, which was reduced to seven counts after one was dropped.
This reduced the alleged stolen amount to about $15,780, which the Crown said that Hall stole from Launceston barrister and solicitor Grant Tucker between August 2010 and September 2012.
The jury also found Hall not guilty of four counts of theft, including the count that was dropped which jurors were directed to return a not guilty verdict for.
Hall's offending involved pocketing unreceipted cash payments from clients before the money made it into the firm's trust account, including receiving cash at court and, in one instance, a coffee shop in the Brisbane Street Mall.
The defence denied that Hall acted dishonestly and Hall did not give or lead evidence.
The eight-day trial attracted intense interest from the Tasmanian legal profession, who turned up in droves to spectate.
During sentencing submissions yesterday, Crown prosecutor Madeleine Wilson said Hall's offending was unsophisticated but not an isolated act.
"It was a sustained course of conduct encompassing other uncharged acts," she said.
Mrs Wilson said financial hardship was irrelevant, because although police asked Hall about the high level of debt which he had had for quite a while, Hall said he was only "a little bit" motivated by this.
Defence counsel Geoffrey Steward said he would seek a psychological report for his client before he made his plea in mitigation.
Justice Stephen Estcourt continued Hall's bail and adjourned the matter for mention to Hobart on December 5, when a sentencing date will be set.