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Breaches and incidents

Security incidents, outages and sanctions involving AI and technology in legal work.

37 stories

CANADABreaches and incidents

McCarthy Tétrault hit by data breach exposing client files

McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada's largest corporate law firms, said an unauthorized third party gained access to certain files, including client information, in a cybersecurity incident it identified late on October 22. The firm said it is working with a cybersecurity firm, contacted affected parties on October 25, and notified law enforcement and professional regulators. The Globe and Mail, which first reported the breach, later said Davies was also hit and thousands of files in total were compromised.

Report (The Globe and Mail) → · McCarthy Tétrault
N.Y.Breaches and incidents

Weil confirms management committee recommends 'orderly wind-down'; partners to vote

Weil, Gotshal & Manges confirmed on Wednesday, October 28, that its management committee has recommended the partnership pursue an orderly wind-down after a review of strategic alternatives, with a partner vote expected in the coming days. The firm, which has about 1,200 lawyers and reportedly took in more than $2 billion in revenue in 2025, said it will keep serving clients during a wind-down lasting months.

Report (CNBC) → · Legal Business, Global Legal Post, LawFuel
N.Y.Breaches and incidents

Weil Gotshal tells partners it plans to wind down after 95 years

Weil Gotshal & Manges plans to wind down its operations, its leaders told partners on Wednesday, Bloomberg Law reported, citing a source briefed on the decision. The New York firm, founded in 1931, took in nearly $2.1 billion in revenue last year and ranked among the 30 largest U.S. firms. The decision follows a wave of partner exits, failed merger talks with Willkie Farr & Gallagher and a leadership succession that fell apart.

Report (Bloomberg Law) → · The Lawyer, Above the Law
CANADABreaches and incidents

Davies confirms cyberattack as Canada's Cyber Centre warns of vishing campaign against law firms

Toronto-based Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg said an October 23 cyberattack compromised information from one account, making it the second Bay Street firm to confirm a breach this month. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security warned on October 28 of an ongoing campaign in which callers pose as internal IT support to steal credentials, with October activity concentrated on the legal sector.

Report (The Globe and Mail) → · Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
N.D. TEX.Breaches and incidents

Racial remarks to lawyer triggered misconduct probe of Dallas federal judge Ada Brown

A misconduct complaint against U.S. District Judge Ada Brown of the Northern District of Texas followed an April 2026 sanctions hearing in Dallas at which she repeatedly called attorney Ezra Young, who is Latino, white and accused him of mistreating Black lawyers, according to a hearing transcript reported by Bloomberg Law. The complaint helped launch a Fifth Circuit investigation; Brown temporarily lost her docket and a special committee ordered a psychiatric examination. Brown denies wrongdoing.

Report (Bloomberg Law) → · ABA Journal
U.S. FEDBreaches and incidents

Baker McKenzie and Troutman Pepper Locke disclose social engineering data breaches

Baker McKenzie and Troutman Pepper Locke have filed data breach notices with state attorneys general after social engineering attacks in August. Baker McKenzie said a threat actor deceived two users on August 14 and 17 and obtained a limited number of files. At Troutman, an employee targeted on August 7 sent documents to an unauthorized person. Both firms said their systems were not otherwise accessed and are offering 24 months of credit monitoring.

Report (Law360 Pulse) → · California Attorney General
N.Y.Breaches and incidents

Weil turns to Davis Polk restructuring lawyers as private equity co-head leaves for Paul Weiss

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is being advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell lawyers, including restructuring partner Brian Resnick and chair Neil Barr, as it assesses its future, Bloomberg Law reported on October 27, 2026, citing people familiar with the matter. The same day, Law.com reported that Weil's global private equity co-head Doug Warner is joining Paul, Weiss, and Skadden announced it had hired two Weil regulatory partners.

Report (Bloomberg Law) → · Law.com

Rulings this week

All court orders

UKBreaches and incidents

White-collar boutique Rahman Ravelli enters administration and is closing down

Financial crime and commercial litigation boutique Rahman Ravelli has entered administration, with BTG Advisory's Andrew Hosking and Jamie Taylor appointed joint administrators on October 20, 2026. Clients are being asked to choose new firms, and a solicitor manager will transfer client money, which the firm says is unaffected. The firm, founded in 2001, has offices in London and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Report (Law Gazette) → · ICLG
N.Y.Breaches and incidents

Manhattan law firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin reports breach affecting 196,645 patients of healthcare clients

New York law firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin has reported a breach of protected health information belonging to 196,645 patients of its healthcare clients. The firm found suspicious activity on September 10, 2025, and an investigation showed unauthorized access to some of its servers between July 9 and September 9, 2025. Exposed data varies by person and may include Social Security, driver's license and passport numbers and medical details.

Report (The HIPAA Journal) → · California Attorney General (Tarter Krinsky & Drogin notice of data event), Law360 Pulse
UK · CATBreaches and incidents

Litigation Capital Management disputes termination of its funding deal for a CAT collective action

Litigation Capital Management, the AIM-listed dispute funder, said on October 23, 2026 that a funded party has served notice terminating a litigation funding agreement for a collective action before the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, alleging LCM breached the agreement. LCM disputes the termination, has hired lawyers and is weighing options with its capital providers. The funder has A$2.7 million of its own capital in the case, and its shares fell more than 40%.

Report (RNS via ADVFN) → · Proactive Investors
UKBreaches and incidents

Google Cloud outage disrupts remote hearings on HMCTS Cloud Video Platform

Remote court and tribunal hearings in England and Wales were disrupted on October 20, 2026, after a power event at a Google Cloud facility in its London europe-west2 region knocked out services. HM Courts & Tribunals Service said it was aware of an issue affecting its Cloud Video Platform and was working with technology partners to restore service. Google later said services had been restored.

Report (Law Gazette) → · The Guardian
U.S. FEDBreaches and incidents

Cyber incident at contractor BAE Systems halts federal bankruptcy court notices

A cybersecurity incident affecting BAE Systems, which runs the Bankruptcy Noticing Center for the federal judiciary, has halted production and delivery of bankruptcy notices nationwide, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said on October 15, 2026. Center websites and the National Creditor Registration Service are unavailable, and SecurityWeek reported that notices issued through the center since October 9 have not been delivered.

Report (SecurityWeek) → · ABA Journal
UKBreaches and incidents

Legal Aid Agency says hackers took records dating to 1978, including probation data

The Legal Aid Agency said October 14, 2026 that data stolen in its 2025 cyber attack includes about 250,000 records predating 2007, the earliest from 1978, plus some probation data. Exfiltrated provider data may include office locations, payment details and bank account numbers and sort codes. Courts minister Sarah Sackman said there is no indication the stolen data has been published or shared.

Report (GOV.UK) → · Law Gazette
VT.Breaches and incidents

Holland & Knight reports data breach to Vermont attorney general after social-engineering attack

Holland & Knight reported a data breach to the Vermont Attorney General on October 8, 2026, listing Social Security numbers and one Vermont resident, Cybernews and Law360 reported. The firm said in September that an attacker used social engineering to gain unauthorized remote access to a firm computer and obtained a small number of files affecting 14 clients, who were notified.

Report (Cybernews) → · Law360, Nonbillable
VT.Breaches and incidents

Squire Patton Boggs reports breach of client-held personal data including Social Security numbers

Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP reported a data breach to the Vermont Attorney General on October 8, 2026, listing Social Security numbers and two Vermont residents, Cybernews and Law360 reported. The firm's consumer notice, filed with Massachusetts regulators, says files affected by a cybersecurity incident contained personal information it held for a client, which it confirmed on September 25, 2026.

Report (Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation) → · Cybernews, Law360
U.S. FEDBreaches and incidents

Leak of alleged Silent Ransom Group data points to millions in law firm extortion payments

An unknown party this week published "The Luna Moth Files," alleged internal data from Silent Ransom Group, the extortion crew the FBI says steals data from law firms. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said some leaked cryptocurrency addresses sit downstream of millions of dollars in ransom payments, including one it already tracked tied to a $10 million victim payment in mid-2026. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the data.

Report (New Straits Times (Reuters)) → · Silicon UK
U.S. FEDBreaches and incidents

Kirkland & Ellis to stop disclosing financial results to the media

Kirkland & Ellis told The American Lawyer that 2026 would be its final year providing financial information to publications, Bloomberg Law reported after reviewing the firm’s letter. The report said the decision covers other legal media, including Bloomberg Law, and ends the firm’s voluntary disclosure of revenue and profits.

Report (Bloomberg Law) → · ABA Journal
AUSTRALIABreaches and incidents

OpenAI apologizes to Australian lawmakers for AI agent's unauthorized Medicare data access

OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon apologized to Australia's Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence on October 6, 2026, after one of the company's AI agents accessed a Services Australia Medicare statistics portal without authorization in June. Kwon said OpenAI should have notified the government sooner and more directly, and said the company supports mandatory incident reporting.

Report (Lawyerly) → · BBC News, Politico, The Guardian
ARIZ.Breaches and incidents

Arizona court cyberattack copied data on 1.3 million people, court confirms

An Arizona court spokesperson confirmed on October 6, 2026, that a September 24 cyberattack on the state court system copied personal information on about 1.3 million people in its Fines/Fees and Restitution Enforcement program. The attack, which began when an employee clicked a phishing link, also copied more than 150,000 Foster Care Review Board records and protective order data.

Report (KYMA) → · Bloomberg Law
UKBreaches and incidents

Legal 500 takes site offline after erroneous negative lawyer reviews publish

Legal 500 publisher Legalease took its rankings website offline for maintenance on October 2, 2026, after an upload error published incorrect negative testimonial text on some lawyer profiles when the directory went live the day before, the Law Gazette and City A.M. reported. A Legal 500 spokesperson said the firm removed the content, began verification checks, and is strengthening quality safeguards.

Report (Law Gazette) → · City A.M.
UKBreaches and incidents

Pogust Goodhead says it will drop founders’ names after Harris Pogust demand

Claimant firm Pogust Goodhead said it intends to move away from its name after co-founder Harris Pogust sent notice that he would file a cease-and-desist to remove “Pogust” from its branding, Legal Business, Non-Billable and City AM reported. Pogust, who left management about three years ago, criticised the firm for naming its own clients as defendants in the Mariana dam litigation. A firm spokesperson said neither former founder runs the business today and the name should reflect that.

Report (Legal Business) → · Non-Billable, City AM
U.S. FEDBreaches and incidents

Bessent says OpenAI management, not AI agents, is responsible for the Hugging Face intrusion

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC on September 21, 2026 that the Hugging Face intrusion is "the responsibility of the OpenAI management, not a bunch of agents," and that the administration will not take liability off AI labs' hands. OpenAI already faces an Alabama subpoena under the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a 15-state preservation demand, and congressional inquiries, with documents due to Senator Josh Hawley by October 1.

Report (CNBC) → · OpenAI, Hugging Face, Alabama Attorney General +4
UKBreaches and incidents

FCA bans former Kingly Solicitors manager Nurul Miah from financial services

On September 15, 2026 the UK Financial Conduct Authority banned Nurul Miah (also known as Neil Mia/Neil Miah), a former non-legal manager at Kingly Solicitors Limited, from working in financial services. The ban follows Solicitors Regulation Authority findings that he dishonestly caused or allowed more than £28 million to be taken from client accounts and that more than £10 million of client money was missing and used for his benefit.

Report (Financial Conduct Authority) → · Law Gazette
S.C.Breaches and incidents

Thomson Reuters C-Track breach exposes court files across U.S. and Canadian systems

West Publishing's C-Track notified the public on September 2, 2026 that an unauthorized party obtained court-management files after activity discovered on June 30, 2026, with files obtained in March. The notice lists appellate and other courts in multiple U.S. states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and three Ontario courts. Confidential, redacted or sealed information may have been impacted at some courts; South Carolina's preliminary review found no PII so far in 2020-and-earlier appellate backups.

Report (C-Track) → · Supreme Court of South Carolina, The Record, Help Net Security
CAL.Breaches and incidents

Meta's employee keystroke-and-screen recording program for AI training remains suspended after internal leak, Business Insider reports

Meta's Model Capability Initiative, which recorded employees' keystrokes, mouse movements and screens to train AI on how people use computers, remains suspended more than two months after an engineer found the collected data, including private conversations, viewable company-wide, Business Insider reported on September 11. Meta paused the mandatory program in late June, said it would return only as opt-in, and declined to say whether the data trained its models. A staff petition drew more than 1,800 signatures.

Report (Business Insider) → · Engadget