Follow all the coverage of Hewlett-Packard’s boardroom spying scandal � and the continuing legal fallout.
However, he did point to a suit that the company filed in August in San Francisco federal court seeking to find out the identities of several people who improperly accessed phone records, but would not say whether it was directly related to the HP case.
The focus of the federal query remains unclear, but the fast-multiplying probes into the matter have Silicon Valley lawyers abuzz with the possibility that attorneys, either at HP or at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, could be ensnared.
Spokespersons for the firm and HP did not return calls by press time. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sonsini, who played a role in both the board’s initial leak investigation and its attempt to contain the crisis, ran emergency meetings of HP’s board this week. The firm has denied it was involved in the portion of the investigation that involved pretexting.
On Tuesday, HP announced that director Patricia Dunn, who had initiated the leak investigation, would step down as chair at the end of the year.
A week ago, it was publicly revealed that ex-director Thomas Perkins had quit the board in May to protest the leak investigation. Since then, what started as a boardroom disagreement has careened into chaos.
It isn’t clear when, or how, the various investigations will culminate. Lockyer spokesman Tom Dresslar wouldn’t comment on when the state might file charges, or whether it is working with the U.S. attorney’s office.
“We are focused on completing our investigation into crimes we believe were committed,” he said.
