Lawyer Acted Recklessly When He Informed on ENRC to SFO (1)

A criminal defense lawyer at the heart of a bitter dispute between a Kazakh miner and UK prosecutors acted in “reckless breach of duty,” when he gave up information on his own client to the Serious Fraud Office, a London judge ruled.

Neil Gerrard, an ex-Dechert LLP lawyer who represented Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., was accused of colluding with the UK’s SFO to build a criminal case against the Kazakh miner he advised. The allegations were pored over during an 11-week trial that saw Gerrard accused of lying in court about his knowledge of a whistle blower.

Judge ...