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Y O U N G L A W Y E R S J O U R N A L
LAW FIRMS NOT IMMUNE TO THIS EVOLVING THREAT
The Benefits of Having an Incident
Response Plan for a Law Firm
By Brian C. Eaton
D
ata breaches today are becoming
more of an inevitability than a
possibility. Law firms are not
immune to the evolving threat of data
breaches. Most notably with the “Panama
Papers” breach of Mossack Fonseca, to high
profile New York firms, and the recent class
action suit against a Chicago based firm,
the legal profession has faced their share of
very public data security issues. Law firms
that are not prepared to deal with a breach
are vulnerable to a worst-case scenario
fallout from the event.
Data breaches in law firms are becoming
more of a trend than an anomaly because
law firms are a rich target for hackers.
They can be storage houses of sensitive
personal information, inside information
on mergers and acquisitions, health care
information and other types of data that
can be used for identity theft. They are
also generally perceived to be softer targets
than some of their clients when it pertains
to data security; thus, making them more
appealing. Smaller to mid-size firms, may
not be able to afford the substantial time
and financial investments to stay protected.
Large firms generally have to fend off
more attacks because of the vast amount
of information they hold. Also, while law
firms may not have collected the health
information or other data directly from
individuals, under HIPPA and state breach
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