American Bar Association releases cyber insurance guide for lawyers

The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Lawyers' Professional Liability on Thursday introduced a guide for attorneys on cyber liability risk and insurance.

Topics in the guide, “Protecting Against Cyber Threats: A Lawyer's Guide to Choosing a Cyber-Liability Insurance Policy,” include why law firms should purchase cyber liability insurance, understanding the coverage, how to prevent coverage gaps and the importance of breach response, among others.

The guide also includes a list of cyber liability insurers that insure law firms and their contact information.

The guide's author is Eileen R. Garczynski, senior vice president of McLean, Virginia-based specialty broker Ames & Gough, who is a member of the ABA standing committee.

Hackers have been moving away from a focus on obtaining personally identifiable information and more towards “soft” targets including law firms, according to recent reports.