Steven Puiszis Quoted in Bloomberg BNA Article Discussing Data Breaches in Law Firms

Steven M. Puiszis, a Chicago-based partner in the Lawyers for the Profession® group at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, was quoted in the article "Law Firms Must Expect Attacks on Their Computers" published by Bloomberg BNA on March 9, 2016.

The article discusses the panel "Preparing for and Responding When the Inevitable Data Breach Occurs," presented at the 15th Annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference (LMRM) in Chicago. The main topic of discussion being the fact that in the 21st century, law firms must question "when" and "what type" of data breach they are vulnerable to rather than "if" they are vulnerable. Mr. Puiszis said data breaches come in all shapes and sizes and explained that clients may understand how a lawyer may lose their data by clicking on a malicious link or losing a smartphone, but they won't forgive a breach that the firm could have prevented but didn't.

Acting as the moderator, Mr. Puiszis posed questions such as: "When there's an incident should the firm's general counsel get involved?" and "When should a law firm respond to a press inquiry?" The article concludes by discussing response plans against data breaches that firms can utilize. Mr. Puiszis is quoted as saying "if you haven't tried out your plan, you're going to find gaps when something happens," even if everyone in the firm knows about the plan and what their duties are under it. "You want to be able to practice with simulations of cyberattacks."

Steven Puiszis is the firm's Deputy General Counsel and also serves as Hinshaw's Privacy and Security Officer. He began his legal career in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office where he served in the Special Prosecution and General Criminal Divisions.