Another lawyer, who has contributed to the case between Johnson and CSAM, said there had not been any litigation of this manner pertaining to Sarbanes-Oxley in Australia. Enshrined in the Credit Suisse Group compliance policy is the “Policies and Procedures for ‘Up the Ladder’ Reporting by Attorneys of Evidence of a Material Violation under the Final Rules of the US Securities & Exchange Commission”.

In his statement of claim before the court, Johnson contended that he was fired as a consequence of reporting what he claimed was an unlawful backdating of a sub-investment agreement, sent from New York, which terminated CSAM Australia’s investment advisory responsibilities for the Credit Suisse Japan Growth Fund.