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Dechert will pay millions of dollars to settle ‘hack-for-hire’ allegations stemming from ex-partner’s work

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 5, 2024, 10:54 am CST

Dechert has agreed to pay $3.8 million plus costs to settle claims in the United Kingdom that a former London partner conspired to hack and release the emails of a client’s opponent.

The costs have not yet been determined, but they are about $11 million, bringing the total to nearly $15 million, according to Farhad Azima, the aviation executive who said his email was hacked.

Law360 and Bloomberg Law have coverage.

A spokesperson for Azima told Law360 that he has also resolved his claims against the former partner, Neil Gerrard, as part of the U.K. settlement. But the settlement does not resolve Azima’s a RICO suit against Dechert and Gerrard in the United States, according to Bloomberg Law and Law360. A motion to dismiss that federal lawsuit is pending in the Southern District of New York.

Gerrard was global co-chair of Dechert’s white-collar and securities litigation practice before his retirement in 2020.

Azima has alleged that his emails were hacked and released to reporters in a bid to silence his complaints about human rights abuses by Dechert client Ras Al Khaimah, one of the United Arab Emirates. Azima alleges that he was the victim of a “massive hack-for-hire operation” orchestrated by Girardi, according to Law360.

Dechert said there was no admission of liability in connection with the U.K. settlement.