Cyberattacks can take many forms: phishing emails, greenmail attacks, Trojan Horses and others. Many law firms concerned about this issue focus primarily on safeguarding confidential information belonging to clients in an effort to meet their obligations under Rule 1.6 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. However, one recent trend in cyber scamming creates additional risks for attorneys: attacks that are targeted on law firm trust accounts.
As cyberattacks have become more sophisticated, hackers have been able to obtain passwords, access codes and account numbers. When such an attack occurs and funds are stolen from a firm’s trust account, clients may look to the attorneys to make up the difference. But are lawyers liable for these losses? How can such attacks be prevented?
