Israel Folau will reportedly lodge a legal challenge to his sacking by Rugby Australia within the next two days.
The Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday that the former Wallaby and Kangaroo had hired commercial law firm Macpherson Kelley to prepare a challenge after he was fired for an April 10 Instagram post saying homosexuals would go to hell.
The firm's head of employment, George Haros, who has also represented Opals basketballer Liz Cambage and St Kilda AFL player Ahmed Saad, said Macpherson Kelley believed Rugby Australia had acted "unlawfully".
"We believe Rugby Australia and the Waratahs have acted unfairly and unlawfully in their treatment of Israel," Haros told the Australian Financial Review.
"Israel has several options available to him at this point, and we are considering his next steps."
Haros will work closely with top industrial relations silk Stuart Wood QC on a case the AFR reported was likely to involve claims of breach of contract and unlawful termination under the Fair Work Act, which protects employees from being sacked because of their religion.
Folau was sacked on May 20, giving him until next Monday to lodge an application to have his case heard in the Fair Work Commission, which is where he is expected to take up the legal fight.
In the football realm, it remains unclear where he will end up despite saying last month he wanted to keep playing professionally.
Despite reports on Wednesday that Folau could be welcomed back to the NRL if stipulations about his social media use were agreed upon, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter Beattie insisted the game's stance on his registration had not changed.
"The bottom line with all this is - and I have to say upfront that I don't really want to deal in hypotheticals - but the bottom line is that the post is still up," Beattie said.
"We haven't changed our position on this at all. To be honest I'm just cranky this has all come out on the eve of State of Origin - which is our biggest game of the year."
Rumours that the Broncos are interested in Folau have also been shut down by club officials.
Folau is unlikely to be given a second chance in the controversy-averse Japanese professional league, with all teams owned by major corporations such as Panasonic, Kobelco, Suntory and Toyota.
France's Top 14 could remain an option, but his wife Maria's netball career is also a consideration. She was recently named in New Zealand's squad for the upcoming Netball World Cup in England and plays with the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Super Netball.
She could follow in the footsteps of other netballers and ply her trade as a player or coach in England, but the couple are understood to be deeply committed to growing their church communities in Sydney and Brisbane.