Sidley Austin and Squire Patton face accusations over alleged client perjury

The two law firms face accusations that they did not reveal alleged false testimony made by their client, Mitsubishi, in court hearings.

The company Grail Semiconductor says that both the firms should be taken off a trade secrets trial in which they have been representing Mitsubishi Electronics USA. A motion from Grail also seeks lawyers fees. The accusations hinge around what Grail calls a 'smoking gun' email that was not initially revealed by either firm to the court. Grail argues that it should be made available to the jury in an upcoming damages retrial. 

Perjured testimony

The email is said to reveal that false testimony had been made and to prove an agreement between Grail and Mitsubishi, something which was then denied by the electronics giant. Squire Patton Boggs represented Mitsubishi at first. Sidley Austin became involved later but did not, says Grail, immediately alert the court to the 'perjured testimony and misstatements of fact'. Grail found the email, written in Japanese, in a recent documents dump. 

Comprehensive response

Peter Ostroff, senior counsel for Sidley Austin, did not comment on the Grail allegations specifically but said: 'I think that our response will be very comprehensive and it will speak for itself.' Source: ABA

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