Summary: Law firm Edelson P.C. filed a lawsuit against a Chicago law firm for cybersecurity vulnerabilities and is now seeking for the lawsuit to be unsealed.
Edelson P.C. has filed a class-action lawsuit against a Chicago-based regional law firm for data security problems. The lawsuit has been filed under seal but partner Jay Edelson has moved to unseal the suit against the Chicago firm.
Edelson and his firm investigated law firms for the past year, finding 15 major firms with cybersecurity holes. In an interview with Big Law Business, Edelson said his law firm plans to file more lawsuits to target data security inadequacies on behalf of clients that have concerns over how their data is protected.
Read Law Firms Teaming Up to Protect Each Other’s Data to learn more.
The lawsuit is filed under seal so hackers are not made aware of the holes. The lawsuit asked for a temporary restraining order so the law firm can patch its security holes. With that fixed, Edelson wants the case to be unsealed so that the public is aware of which law firm had the problem.
All that is known about the Chicago-based law firm is that the firm has been “an outspoken voice” in calling all law firms to improve their cybersecurity. The firm has even said any law firm that does not do this could be committing malpractice. Edelson’s law firm found that their security measures had gaps where an advanced hacker could gain access to internal billing information and even emails.
See Will Cravath Swaine & Moore and Other Law Firms Get Hacked Again?
The lawsuit sought injunctive relief and damages. The damages since the clients of the law firm have “been overpaying for legal services (because they have been paying, in part, to keep their data secure – and the law firm hasn’t been keeping up with their end of the bargain.”
The lawsuit comes on the heels of Cravath Swaine & Moore admitting that they had been hacked.
Source: https://bol.bna.com/class-action-suit-targeting-law-firm-privacy-protections-could-be-sealed/
Photo: nytimes.com
Jay Edelson Photo: edelson.com