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A lawyer who was accused of fraudulently taking almost $200,000 from clients has lost a courtroom battle to keep her identity secret.
A suppression order preventing the identification of Emma Jane Garnett was lifted in the High Court at Auckland last week.
The 33-year-old resident of Auckland's North Shore faces five counts of false accounting and two charges of using a document for pecuniary advantage.
She has been suspended from practising as a solicitor by the Auckland District Law Society.
According to court documents, the alleged offending involved more than $190,000.
Last year, the Herald on Sunday and a lawyer representing Garnett's former employers unsuccessfully fought for interim name suppression to be lifted.
Judge Josephine Bouchier refused to renew the suppression when the order lapsed in March.
Appealing against Judge Bouchier's decision, Garnett's lawyer, Greg King, argued that naming his client would seriously undermine her health, the health of her newborn son and the health and reputation of her mum, Taupo councillor Kathryn Uvhagen.
Last week Justice Geoffrey Venning dismissed the appeal and said there were no particular factors pointing to prohibition of publication. Orders preventing the naming of the law firms Garnett worked for and the clients who allegedly lost money remain in place. She has been remanded at large until a hearing to discuss sentencing and possible reparation next month.
