Former Dechert partner Neil Gerrard allegedly directed an India-based firm to hack the personal data of an aviation executive while the lawyer was working for one of the United Arab Emirates, according to a new US court filing.
The directors of the firm, CyberRoot, admitted they “repeatedly” breached computers of the executive, Farhad Azima, from 2015 until at least 2020, Azima’s counsel claimed in the Thursday filing. The filing was part of Azima’s lawsuit in North Carolina against Nicholas Del Rosso, a private investigator who has done work on behalf of Dechert.
The development stems from a long-running legal fight between one of the emirates, Ras Al Khaimah, and Azima, who once had business ties with the emirate’s investment fund. The Thursday filing—based on text messages and an in-person Tokyo meeting Azima’s lawyers said they had with two CyberRoot directors—says Del Rosso and Gerrard instructed the firm to place the hacked data on the internet.
The allegation is the latest in a long line of claims that raise questions about the actions of Gerrard, a London-based partner for Dechert until he retired in 2020. Dechert faces at least five legal proceedings in the US and UK tied to work Gerrard performed while representing the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority, though Dechert and Gerrard are not named defendants in the North Carolina action.
Dechert and Azima’s lawyer declined to comment on the Thursday filing. Lawyers for Gerrard and Del Rosso did not immediately return requests for comment. The CyberRoot directors could not be immediately reached.
Azima sued Del Rosso in 2020, alleging that while working for Dechert, he hired hackers in India to steal Azima’s documents. The suit is seeking monetary damages and an injunction against futher hacking.
CyberRoot provided “technical support necessary to hack Azima,” according to the initial complaint. Records released in a separate legal proceeding in the UK on Friday note that Del Rosso worked for Dechert from 2014 to 2020.
CyberRoot’s directors first contacted Azima’s US lawyers in February about providing evidence that would support Azima’s North Carolina suit, per Thursday’s filing. They claimed to Azima’s US lawyers that Del Rosso’s attorneys pressured them to sign false witness statements denying the hacking after Azima’s lawsuit, the filing said.
The case is Azima v Del Rosso, M.D.N.C., 1-20 00954, 7/20/23
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:
See Breaking News in Context
Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.
Already a subscriber?
Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.