The world is weighing in on the so-called "Panama Papers" data breach — the release of 11.5 million leaked documents detailing attorney-client information for more than 214,000 offshore companies associed with the Panamaian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson stepped down from his position, after his involvement with the law firm became public.

A network security company, in an interview with security trade publication SC Magazine, speculates that the amount of data stolen would have taken nine full days to remove from the law firm's systems. Though many applaud the hackers for bringing to light such gross political deception, it's important to start the conversation around what this breach means for a law firm's management of risk and its insurance policies.

|

Lawyers' evolving risks

Since the 1960s, courts have levied increasingly punitive judgments against legal professionals as a consequence for their errors. As such, lawyers needed ways to insulate their business and personal assets. Insurers responded with Lawyers' Professional Liability (LPL) policies.

Recommended For You

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more inforrmation visit Asset & Logo Licensing.