Lawyers defend structuring charges

The case against two lawyers accused of helping clients hide money during criminal confiscation proceedings is a "gold mine" of inconsistent statements made by witnesses, one of their lawyers has told a Brisbane court.

Jason Murakami, 46, and Ron Behlau, 35, are facing charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and conducting transactions to avoid reporting requirements.

It's alleged the former Nyst Lawyers employees engaged in structuring, which involves banking cash sums of $10,000 or more in smaller amounts to avoid the transaction being reported to the federal government's special financial intelligence unit.

Queensland's crime and corruption watchdog alleges the pair did so to obstruct criminal confiscation proceedings.

But Murakami's lawyer, Craig Eberhardt, attacked the watchdog's case during a committal hearing on Monday, saying it was littered with inconsistent statements from witnesses.

"This case ... is a veritable gold mine of inconsistent statements made by various witnesses," he told the Brisbane Magistrates Court.

The first two witnesses to address the hearing both agreed, under cross examination, that they stood to benefit with reduced sentences by giving statements to the then Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC).

The former Nyst Lawyers clients, who were charged with serious drug offences, also both agreed their memories were hazy at the time and didn't keep any notes.

The first, Rosemary Gardener, was quizzed on her statements to the CMC and payments to law firms as she organised legal representation for members of her family charged with producing and trafficking cannabis.

Mr Eberhardt pressed her about a statement made to the CMC in which she said she had no involvement in her father's "drug and trafficking business".

"That was a complete lie?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

Ms Gardener, who kept no receipts for her legal payments, agreed she later gave evidence against Nyst Lawyers to the CMC because she wanted to try to minimise her sentence.

The second witness, Kylie McGuiggan, agreed she was motivated to talk to the watchdog to get a discount on her sentence.

"I thought I was doing the right thing ... that was a privilege, yes," she said.

But Ms McGuiggan rejected the notion she blamed Nyst Lawyers for the $95,000 legal retainer she and her partner paid being seized by the government.

The hearing continues.