Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo has told a civil trial she thought she'd only have to be a police informer for a few weeks. Instead, she said, her life became like a spy novel.

The former gangland barrister at the centre of one of Victoria’s biggest legal scandals lives in constant fear her whereabouts will be exposed, a court has been told.

Barrister turned police informer Nicola Gobbo has told the Victorian Supreme Court she felt pressured by a number of underworld figures. Ms Gobbo is giving evidence from a secret location, as she sues the state government over her handling during Melbourne's gangland war.