Large-firm breach disclosures raise the panel due-diligence threshold

On October 9, Reuters reported that Holland & Knight and Squire Patton Boggs had disclosed breaches exposing Social Security numbers after notices filed with Vermont’s attorney general on October 8. Holland & Knight said a social-engineering attack enabled remote access, while a proposed class action involving Nelson Mullins alleges that information was taken from one laptop. For panel and relationship teams, the developments make identity controls, endpoint governance and incident evidence part of client retention rather than solely an information-security response. Firms should ensure that RFP answers, client security questionnaires and relationship-partner explanations describe the same tested controls and escalation process.