Another Top Biglaw Firm’s Ransomware Attack Shows The Importance Of Cybersecurity

// When people think of legal movies, they usually think of Legally Blonde or My Cousin Vinny. But times are changing — they’d be better served if they thought about Blackhat. Attorney-client privilege does wonders when an adverse party wants to compel you to disclose information, but it doesn’t do much in the face of key loggers. Cyber attacks are a real threat to firm security, and even large firms like Quinn Emanuel need to be wary of them. From Reuters:

An electronic discovery vendor for U.S. law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan suffered a cybersecurity attack that may have exposed client information, the firm disclosed to California authorities on Friday.

Quinn Emanuel confirmed to Reuters on Monday that “a third-party data center we use for document management for some of our clients became the victim of a ransomware attack” last year. It said the attack was “limited to a small portion of our clients and matters.”

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); });

As fortunate as it is that only a small portion of clients and matters were hit in the ransomware attack, none is always preferable. The list of Biglaw firms that have been hit by hackers looks like a who’s who of the industry: Jones Day, Gibson Dunn, Orrick, and others. Will your firm be the next to join the list? If you want to avoid that, your best bet would be to bolster your cybersecurity during the “just in case” phase rather than the “why didn’t we just factor it into overhead” one. Your clients and your PR team will thank you.

Sponsored Documenting Secured Transactions: A New Guide For Practitioners A newly updated PLI treatise provides both the legal framework and practical guidance on documenting secured transactions, including important details about 2022 amendments to the UCC. From Practising Law Institute  

Quinn Emanuel Reports Cyber Attack Involving ‘Limited’ Client Data [Reuters]

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); });

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-bottom-300x250" ); }); Sponsored Sponsored Documenting Secured Transactions: A New Guide For Practitioners A newly updated PLI treatise provides both the legal framework and practical guidance on documenting secured transactions, including important details about 2022 amendments to the UCC. From Practising Law Institute   Sponsored Security: The Stakes May Be Higher Than You Think We surveyed Above the Law’s readers on challenges facing smaller law firms. Join us to learn what we found. CLE credit available if you attend… From iManage and Above The Law   Sponsored Take Your Firm’s Work To The Next Level With Neos Try Neos, the case management platform that will supercharge your firm's productivity. From Assembly Software and Above The Law   Sponsored Clio Users: New Ways To Add Value To Your Practice! Want to quickly and easily identify the products that work well with Clio? Read on. From Above The Law   Sponsored This Early Adopter Found Success With Legal AI. Here’s How You Can, Too Hear how one company brought the power of artificial intelligence into its contracting workflow. From LexCheck and Above The Law   Sponsored This Early Adopter Found Success With Legal AI. Here’s How You Can, Too Hear how one company brought the power of artificial intelligence into its contracting workflow. From LexCheck and Above The Law   Topics

Biglaw, Cybersecurity, Quinn Emanuel, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Technology