Phishing Attacks: How Lawyers Actually Get Hacked
Most cyber incidents in small organizations do not begin with elite technical wizardry. They begin with a human being clicking the wrong link, opening the wrong attachment, or entering a password into the wrong page.
What phishing looks like in legal practice
Phishing emails often mimic courts, clients, opposing counsel, vendors, or internal colleagues. They create urgency. They exploit routine. They ask the user to review a shared file, reset a password, approve a payment, or open an attachment.
Why lawyers are attractive targets
Lawyers move money, hold sensitive information, coordinate deadlines, and manage communications that matter. An attacker does not need to steal everything. One compromised account may be enough to send fraudulent payment instructions, intercept confidential communications, or launch a wider attack across the firm.
What firms should do
- Train users to slow down when messages create urgency.
- Teach staff to inspect links before clicking.
- Use 2FA and, where possible, hardware keys.
- Block risky attachment types and suspicious forwarding behavior.
- Create a simple reporting process for suspicious emails.
The point of phishing defense is not to create perfect employees. It is to create a system where one mistake does not become a disaster.