Firms hacking targets, report warns

Warning over hackers targeting law firms
The targeting of law firms by computer hackers has been highlighted by two separate reports. Major law firms in the US, including Wall Street favourites Cravath Swaine & Moore and Weil Gotshal & Manges, have been hacked with the intention of stealing information to use in inside trading, according to the Wall Street Journal. An investigation has been launched by the US attorney’s office and the FBI. The attacks are believed to have taken place some months ago.
Meanwhile, the FT reports that £85 million (AU$122 million) has been stolen from British law firms in the past 18 months through so-called Friday Afternoon Fraud. In these cases, it is often smaller law firms that are targeted as they often have less sophisticated online security. The criminals use email to download malware onto law firm computers, wait for details of an imminent money transfer, and request via a legitimate-looking email for that funds are transferred to a different account.
 
Singapore sets new high for arbitration
There were a record number of new cases filed with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre in 2015, a rise of 22 per cent. The 271 cases came from 55 jurisdictions. The total sum in dispute was also a new high, reaching S$6.2 billion, up 24 per cent from 2014 and beating the previous record of $6 billion set in 2013.
 
Hogan Lovells adds to Asia-Pac headcount
International law firm Hogan Lovells has added a new partner to its headcount in Asia-Pacific. Lisa Yano has joined the firm’s Tokyo corporate practice, increasing its cross-border M&A offering into and out of Japan. Yano is US qualified and registered as a foreign legal consultant in Japan. She is fluent in Japanese as well as English.
 
Lawyer dodges Belgian terror attacks – twice
A lawyer survived the recent terrorist attacks in Brussels not once, but twice; and helped those caught up in the blasts. German Marc Schreiner flew from Berlin to Brussels last Tuesday morning, arriving just moments after the suicide bombers had detonated their devices leaving multiple deaths and injuries.
He left the airport in a taxi and headed into the city, speaking to colleagues on route to reassure them that he was safe, but as he was dropped off near the Maelbeek metro, a bomb blasted the station. Schreiner went into the station and helped people find their way out of the devastation before smoke forced him to turn back. He was uninjured in the attacks and was back in Berlin later that day.