Former Victorian Coalition adviser Tristan Weston has appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on charges of impersonating a lawyer.

Weston was a police officer and an adviser to former deputy premier Peter Ryan.

He was also a key figure in the tumult surrounding the a rift in Victoria Police command and the demise of chief commissioner Simon Overland in 2012.

Court documents showed Weston was charged in March by the Legal Services Board with four offences dating back to January 2014.

The board's chief executive officer, Michael McGarvie, alleged Weston, 44, "engaged in legal practice whilst not being an Australian legal practitioner".

It was alleged he attended the Melbourne East police station as a lawyer and sat in on a police interview for someone charged with handling stolen goods, after a man's iPad went missing from a city cafe.

The board alleged the accused person gave a no-comment interview after Weston passed him a note.

The charge sheets also said Weston claimed to be working for law firm Maitland Lawyers and later refused police offers to withdraw or resolve the theft charge.

He was also accused of appearing as an instructing lawyer at the bar table during the accused's court case.

"He ... corresponded by email dated 16 May 2014 giving a legal opinion on the strength of the case and prospects of success and seeking settlement of the matter," the case summary said.

"The email was sent from his Maitland Lawyers email address and signed in his name and written in the first person."

Weston was interviewed at the office of the Legal Services Board in January this year.

At a mention in court on Wednesday, Weston's lawyer Michael McNamara said requests for information from police about the case had gone unanswered.

He said Weston was attempting to become a lawyer and the case against him was preventing him from succeeding.

"Don't underestimate how big this is Your Honour," Mr McNamara said.

"My client's livelihood as a lawyer is on the line.

"It's stopping him from being admitted as a lawyer. He's been stuck with these allegations for a very long time."

The parties will return to court next month.