When mining group Mineral Resources asked Herbert Smith Freehills months ago to investigate scorching allegations against its founder, Chris Ellison, the law firm was thrust into one of the most contentious governance cases of the year.

There are two versions circulating about what happened next. Both raise serious questions about how the company, its board and the professional services firms working for it have handled a matter that had been live at MinRes for years before it hit the headlines a week ago.