Law Firm Clients Sue Over Exposed Personal Data
Proposed class actions against Baker McKenzie and Squire Patton Boggs follow two separate breaches disclosed this year.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Cybersecurity
Live Poll
Do you trust companies to keep your personal information safe from hackers?
Plaintiffs filed proposed class action lawsuits against the law firms Baker McKenzie and Squire Patton Boggs over cyberattacks that exposed personal information. The complaint against Baker McKenzie was filed in the Northern District of Illinois, and the complaint against Squire Patton Boggs was filed in the Northern District of Ohio. The development is a legal filing following disclosed breaches, not a shipped or announced technology.
Why it matters
The suits show plaintiffs turning law firms' data breaches into class action litigation, extending liability questions to professional services firms that hold sensitive client information. Baker McKenzie said a cybercriminal socially engineered two users in August to obtain a limited number of files, while Squire Patton Boggs disclosed its breach in October.
The source reports no benchmark, record count, or technical specification for either breach. The available facts are limited to the use of social engineering against two Baker McKenzie users and an unauthorized third party's access to a limited set of Squire Patton Boggs information.
The players
Baker McKenzie
A global law firm whose breach involved social engineering of two of its users in August.
Squire Patton Boggs
A international law firm that disclosed an unauthorized third-party data access incident in October.
The details
Social engineering is a method in which an attacker manipulates people rather than systems, for example by impersonating a trusted contact to gain credentials or files. According to the source, a cybercriminal used this approach on two Baker McKenzie users in August to obtain a limited number of files, and Baker McKenzie stated there was no independent malicious access to its system. Squire Patton Boggs described its October incident as an unauthorized third party obtaining a limited set of information from the firm.
Timeline
August: a cybercriminal socially engineered two Baker McKenzie users.
October: Squire Patton Boggs disclosed its breach.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: plaintiffs filed proposed class action complaints against both firms.
The Tech Race
The filings place two law firms within the broader cybersecurity litigation pattern that follows data breaches. The source does not identify a competing research program or product roadmap.
Clients whose personal information was held by these firms may be affected, and the suits seek to represent them as a class. The source does not state a timeline for resolution or any remedy offered.
The takeaway
Watch for the court dockets in the Northern District of Illinois and Northern District of Ohio, where the proposed class actions will proceed. Any response from Baker McKenzie or Squire Patton Boggs on the scope of exposed data would clarify how many individuals are affected.
Further reading
For broader context, explore Cybersecurity coverage across the United States.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ABA Journal - Law News Now.
Live Poll
Do you trust companies to keep your personal information safe from hackers?
