Dechert has taken legal action in the US to gain access to documents obtained by a Sunday Times journalist after the law firm was accused by its former client, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), of leaking confidential information to the newspaper.

The US firm has applied to subpoena US West Coast correspondent Danny Fortson for documents that are "directly relevant" to an anticipated claim against the firm by ENRC, after the mining company alleged that the journalist was leaked "highly confidential" information by Dechert.

The court filing states that the documents relate to a "a letter written by Dechert to ENRC that was leaked to Fortson, the contents of which was reflected in articles he wrote that were published in The Sunday Times". ENRC has said it is "reasonably likely" to bring claims against Dechert in the UK with regards to the letter.

The articles Fortson wrote for the Sunday Times on the contents of the letter set out allegations that ENRC had "falsified and destroyed" documents, used "electronic wiping tools", and made "payments to African presidents".

The application comes after ENRC successfully applied to subpoena Fortson for the same documents in April this year.

Dechert's application states that it "strongly disputes that it leaked the letter" and requests access to "documents that it [ENRC] may seek from Mr Fortson" in order that it has "the same evidence that ENRC does".

The dispute dates back to 2011, when Dechert took a lead role on an internal investigation into allegations of corruption at an ENRC subsidiary. Global white-collar co-head Neil Gerrard brought over the mandate to the firm when he joined from DLA Piper earlier that year. Dechert was fired by ENRC in March 2013 in an "acrimonious" split and subsequently made allegations of misconduct based on confidential information provided to the firm by ENRC while it was a client.

The firm has asked that it can take its own testimony from Fortson, as well as an additional set of documents relating to the source for the The Sunday Times articles, including "any document that refers to the letter from Dechert to ENRC that was later leaked".

The application was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California late last month, under the names of Dechert New York white-collar partner Benjamin Rosenberg and San Francisco managing partner Joseph Escher. A spokesperson for the firm said: "We have submitted our own application before the California court as we too would like to know the source of the April 2013 leak to The Sunday Times."

In the filing, the firm states that its intention is that through "limited discovery" of documents in Fortson's possession, it intends to prove that it "was not the source of the leak to Mr Forston and did not violate its duty to safeguard ENRC's confidential information".

ENRC, which denies the claims in the letter, alleged in its subpoena application that the information was leaked by Dechert based on the fact that it was "highly confidential" and "only a limited number of people had access to it". ENRC alleges that Dechert "had an apparent motive to leak the letter after it was terminated" by the company.

Charles Harder and Dilan Esper of US law firm Harder are representing ENRC, while Escher is the lead lawyer for Dechert.

ENRC is also currently battling with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) at the High Court, in a case that could have significant implications for legal privilege in the UK.

ENRC is appealing a High Court decision in May last year that communications and advice to ENRC by Dechert during the firm's investigation should be turned over to the SFO. ENRC is disputing the decision that Dechert's investigation was not covered by legal privilege.

The Sunday Times was contacted for comment.

Photo credit: Howard Lake