Law firm Greenberg Traurig faces class actions after cyber breach

By Reuters News

By Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - US law firm Greenberg Traurig has been sued in federal court in Manhattan following its disclosure this month of a data breach that exposed sensitive personal information, adding to a growing list of lawsuits against law firms and other companies over alleged cybersecurity failures.

Here are the details:

  • A proposed class action filed on Sunday said the firm held “highly sensitive private information” related to the plaintiff, a New York resident, in connection to legal services it provided. The lawsuit said the firm failed to secure information including names, Social Security numbers and contact information. The complaint did not say whether the plaintiff was a Greenberg Traurig client.

  • The lawsuit seeks class action status for “thousands of other similarly situated persons in the massive and preventable cyberattack” in August. A group of four plaintiffs filed a similar case earlier in September.

  • Miami-founded Greenberg Traurig, which employs more than 3,200 lawyers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The firm disclosed the breach to state attorneys general in California, Texas and other states earlier this month, records show.

  • In a prior statement, Greenberg Traurig said its "firm systems were not compromised or breached" and that it has continued to operate without disruption. The firm said then that "an unauthorized ​actor" had accessed a limited number of documents and posted them on the dark web and that it had notified a "small number of affected clients."

  • A notice to a victim in California showed that the information involved in the breach included the person’s name, contact information, date of birth and Social Security number. Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the two cases did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

  • Other law firms including Quinn Emanuel and Herbert Smith have disclosed data breaches in recent weeks. Law firm WilmerHale was sued in federal court in Washington in July following an alleged data-security breach.

The cases are Addison et al v. Greenberg Traurig, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 1:26-cv-07793-JAV, and Hancock v. Greenberg Traurig, same court, No. 1:26-cv-08182.

For Addison: Ronald Podolny and John Yanchunis of Morgan & Morgan

For Hancock: Avi Mermelstein of Arenson, Dittmar & Karban

For Greenberg Traurig: No appearances yet

Read more:

Law firm Greenberg Traurig says 'limited' data posted to dark web as cyber attacks mount

Data at law firms Quinn Emanuel, McDermott exposed in cyber breaches

Law firms ​Herbert Smith, Goodwin hit by data breaches

Law firm WilmerHale sued in class action after data breach

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