Read the grovelling apology from the top lawyer blamed for Lisa Wilkinson's ... trends now
Network Ten's top litigator has finally admitted she was wrong to approve Lisa Wilkinson's disastrous Logies speech.
Tasha Smithies' grovelling apology was laid bare in an affidavit tendered to the Federal Court on Wednesday during a costs hearing for Bruce Lehrmann's defamation trial against Network Ten and Wilkinson.
Ms Smithies had told the court in February that she did not think there were any issues with Wilkinson's Logies acceptance speech before it was delivered at the award ceremony in June 2022.
The speech was broadcast on television, eight days before Lehrmann's rape trial, and was treated as a potential contempt issue because Wilkinson referred to Brittany Higgins as a proven rape victim rather than as an alleged rape victim.
As a direct result of that speech, the criminal trial was moved from June to October 2022 because the ACT Chief Justice was concerned jurors may have been exposed to the intense publicity and form bias against Lehrmann.
During a cross-claim in Lehrmann's defamation hearing in February, Ms Smithies refused to accept that her legal advice regarding the speech was poor.
However, her affidavit reflected a significant change of heart since Justice Michael Lee handed down his decision in the matter on April 15 - which included findings about the Wilkinson's speech and Ms Smithies' legal advice.
Network Ten's senior litigator, Tasha Smithies, is pictured leaving court in February
Lisa Wilkinson is pictured delivering her Logies speech in June 2022
She said: 'The trial judgement has had a profound and sobering impact on me. The 11 days since April 15, 2024, have been the most difficult of my career.
'The day after the delivery of the trial judgement, I took a week off work to go away with my family.
'I have read the trial judgement very carefully, especially those parts which relate to me and the advice I gave Ms Wilkinson in relation to the speech she delivered at the TV Week Logie Awards on June 19, 2022.'
She said the judgement at paragraph 1054 in particular 'hit home'.
In paragraph 1054 of the judgement, Justice Lee said: 'There has been ample time for mature reflection and yet there is no recognition, even now, that the speech could have undermined the administration of justice and caused it to be disrupted.
'It is one thing to make a mistake, even a serious mistake – after all, to err is to be human.
'But I regret to say that the continuing lack of insight by Ms Smithies as to the inappropriateness of
