In the hallowed halls of international law, where reputations are crafted over decades, the esteemed law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP now grapples with a lawsuit stemming from a significant data breach, likened to a snake lurking in the digital garden of client confidentiality.
The Web of Accusations
Dennis R. Werley, the plaintiff spearheading the lawsuit, takes aim at Orrick with charges ranging from negligence and breach of confidence to invasion of privacy. The complaint alleges that Orrick allowed clients’ most intimate details – names, addresses, dates of birth, and even Social Security numbers – to fall into the hands of cybercriminals, akin to pearls slipping through a broken net.
The Chronology of Digital Deception
A digital tremor was felt on March 7 when an unsanctioned entity snaked its way into Orrick’s network, absconding with client files filled with precious personal data. Although Orrick identified this breach on March 13, the affected parties were kept in the dark until a letter unveiled the unsettling news on June 30. This nearly four-month delay has been compared to a ticking time bomb, with criminals holding the detonator.
Insufficient Remedies and Looming Threats
In a move to assuage the exposed, Orrick has proposed two years of identity monitoring services. Yet, this gesture is dismissed in the lawsuit as a mere drop in the bucket, or “woefully inadequate.”
