Morning Briefing: Law firms to face scrutiny from insurers

An increase in cyber attacks targeting law firms is likely to mean that insurers will be asking more questions regarding risk management for this threat. That’s the view of international law firm DAC Beachcroft which says in its latest report on the insurance market and trends: “So-called ‘Friday afternoon’ scams and email hacking frauds are the latest threat to lawyers and their insurers. These issues will continue to come into sharper focus as the majority of lawyers start to renew their policies and underwriters begin to ask questions about their risk management policies.”
It is likely that insurers will want terms and conditions to reflect minimum levels of security. Cyber-breach, as well as causing potential operational and reputational damage, can leave law firms open to third-party claims for privacy breach and other losses from exposed data.
 
Bird & Bird hires former DLA Piper Asia-Pac employment head
Pattie Walsh has joined the global employment practice of Bird & Bird. The former head of employment for DLA Piper’s Asia-Pac region, Walsh is qualified to practice in Hong Kong, New South Wales and England. She also has a detailed knowledge of RPC employment law.
 
Arbitration partner added to Gibson & Dunn’s Asia-Pac team
Gibson & Dunn has hired Robert Pe as a partner in its international arbitration practice, based in Hong Kong. Pe joins from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in the region and was previously with Paul Hastings and legacy Lovell White Durrant (now Hogan Lovells).
 
Dechert announces association in Saudi Arabia
International law firm Dechert has announced that it has formed an association with Saudi Arabian firm Hassan Mahassni. The local firm, which was founded in 1970, is one of the largest and most prominent law firms in the Kingdom, and the association is of strategic importance to Dechert as it looks to expand its Middle East presence.
 
Law firm takes aim at Google’s privacy issues
European companies that believe they have suffered from anti-competitive practices by Google won’t have to search far for help. US law firm Hausfeld has launched a new platform called GRIP (Google Redress & Integrity Platform) to provide an easy way to pursue claims against the search engine firm. Although Google says it is not indulged in anti-competitive practices, that is disputed by the European Union and the new website platform builds on those accusations. Perhaps surprisingly the grip.eu website comes top of the Google search listings.