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Former 60 Minutes producer Stephen Rice looks set to fight his sacking from Channel Nine over the failed child abduction operation which saw Mr Rice and three colleagues jailed in Beirut.
Mr Rice has hired top lawyer John Laxon, according to a report in News Corp, ahead of a legal battle against Nine over his sacking.
Mr Laxon is well known for representing media identities and most famously acted for former Nine News boss Mark Llewellyn in 2006 whose leaked affidavit alleged Eddie McGuire wanted to "bone" presenter Jessica Rowe and axe her as host of the Today Show.
On Monday night, host of the ABC's Media Watch Paul Barry, who declared himself a friend of Mr Rice's, broadcast an email in which Mr Rice sought approval from "the powers-that-be" at 60 Minutes for the program to take over the child retrieval operation story.
"I'd appreciate it if I could talk to you as soon as possible, so I can put a recommendation to the powers-that-be here at 60 Minutes about us taking over the project," Mr Rice's email said.
Nine's so-called "independent review" recommended no individual be sacked over the program's decision to hire Adam Whittington's Child Recovery Abduction International firm to try and kidnap the children of Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner from Beirut where they live with their father, who refuses to send them back to Australia.
But the network announced shortly after releasing the review on Friday the departure of Mr Rice - a Walkley Award-winning producer who has been with the company for 25 years.
The rest of the 60 Minutes crew, including host Tara Brown were all censured.
At heart of Mr Rice's anticipated legal challenge will be reports the crew were all promised no one would be sacked. The crew appeared before the investigative panel with no legal representation as a result.
It's believed Nine paid Ms Faulkner's ex-husband Ali Elamine at least $500,000 in exchange for him dropping his civil charges against the crew and his ex-wife.
Mr Whittington, his associate Craig Michael and two Lebanese men who were paid to carry out the abduction remain in jail after Nine excluded the four from their freedom deal.
Shortly after returning home, presenter Tara Brown initially insisted the Lebanese authorities would "see reason" and accept that the crew were just journalists, despite the fact they paid for the child abduction operation and filmed it from a second car.
But on Sunday night host Michael Usher made a full apology.
