Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. former General Counsel Nancy Heinen is seeking private records of a lawyer she hired to defend against a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing Heinen of illegally backdating stock options.

Heinen seeks loan records to show Wendy Howell was under financial pressure ``to do anything'' to keep her job at Apple and to discredit her as a witness in the SEC's case, according to court documents filed today by Howell in federal court in San Jose, California.

``Heinen's attempt at a fishing expedition through Ms. Howell's private financial information in the hopes of somehow shifting blame to Ms. Howell'' violates federal privacy laws, according to the documents.

The SEC sued Heinen in April, accusing her of backdating a 7.5 million-share option grant to Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs in 2001 and earlier grants to his executive team. Howell has claimed Heinen instructed her to falsify documentation for the grants, and she seeks to block Heinen from getting some of the financial records. Heinen has denied any wrongdoing.

Heinen's lawyer ``indicated that his client's interest in Ms. Howell's financial records was to establish that Ms. Howell was under financial pressure during the 2001 to 2002 and 2006 time periods so as to give Ms. Howell motive `to do anything' to keep her job,'' according to the documents.

`Illegal Behavior'

``It is defendant Heinen whose actions are being scrutinized for illegal behavior,'' according to Howell's documents. ``Ms. Howell's real estate holdings and records have no relevance to the SEC's enforcement action against defendant Heinen.''

Heinen's lawyer, Miles Ehrlich, and Thomas Carlucci, representing Howell, didn't immediately return calls seeking comment after business hours.

Heinen hired Howell to report to her as a full-time lawyer at Apple in 1997, according to the documents. Heinen resigned from Apple in May 2006 without explanation, two months before Apple disclosed an internal investigation into option backdating. The inquiry led the company to record $84 million in charges to correct its accounting. Apple fired Howell in December 2006.

Last month, Heinen sent subpoenas to banks and mortgage companies seeking Howell's loan applications and payment records for three undisclosed properties, according to the documents. Howell has asked the court to block most of the subpoenas, arguing the information Heinen seeks is private and isn't relevant to the SEC's case.

Last month, Apple said its fourth-quarter net income rose to $904 million, or $1.01 a share, from $542 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier. Sales climbed 29 percent to $6.22 billion in the period ended Sept. 29.

Apple's shares rose 43 cents to $187.87 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

The case is SEC v. Heinen, 07-2214, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).

To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 2, 2007 23:02 EDT