De-registered lawyer Davina Murray has admitted smuggling contraband to a prisoner after earlier insisting she didn't do it.
Murray was due to be sentenced in Auckland District Court on Friday after she was found guilty last month of smuggling an i-phone and cigarettes to Liam Reid, a convicted murderer and rapist, in 2011.
She maintained her innocence throughout a defended hearing and accused prison guards of planting the items in Reid's cell.
But on Friday, lawyer Peter Williams QC told the court she now accepts responsibility.
Judge Collins said that significantly changes things and adjourned the sentencing until next month.
Murray is requesting a discharge without conviction.
The Law Society has removed Murray from the register of lawyers, meaning she can no longer practise law.