From The Am Law Daily

Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle has filed a lawsuit on behalf of its client, the Republic of Kazakhstan, after the Gmail accounts and computers of several government officials were hacked and their contents posted online, exposing communications between the officials and the firm.

New York-based Curtis litigation partner Jacques Semmelman, who represents the government of Kazakhstan, filed the complaint on Thursday against “Does” in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. Meanwhile, officials in Kazakhstan have launched an investigation into the identity of the hackers and the scope of their breach.

Curtis, which has an office in Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana, has a long history representing the Kazakh government. The firm counseled the Central Asian country in disputes with a consortium of energy giants over the development of the Kashagan Field, a large oil field located in Kazakhstan’s waters in the Caspian Sea. Curtis lawyers also successfully advised the Kazakh government during its effort to gain a 10 percent stake in another oil field, the Karachaganak Field.

The Kazakh officials whose emails have been hacked are the executive secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Marat Beketayev, and a deputy general prosecutor, Andrey Kravchneko, according to the complaint, which also lists Curtis corporate and oil and gas partner Askar Moukhitdinov as outside counsel to the Kazakh government.

The plaintiffs believe the alleged hackers stole thousands of emails and documents and posted on Facebook and other sites 14 emails that “consist of privileged and confidential attorney-client communications.” Those emails had been sent between the government officials and Curtis attorneys or attorneys at the Spanish law firm Gomez-Acebo & Pombo, which also counsels the government of Kazakhstan. The complaint says that the Kazakh officials are worried that more communications will be leaked.

The computers that were hacked “are used in connection with foreign commerce and communication, including with (among others) the United States,” the complaint says.

Curtis attorneys declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Law firms have faced increased pressure to bolster their own cybersecurity efforts as dozens have been hacked in recent years, cybersecurity consultants have told The Am Law Daily.

In response, a group of firms have agreed to form a cybersecurity alliance that would allow them to share information on the tools and procedures being used against them. At least a dozen firms have also sought certification in an international cybersecurity standard in order to demonstrate that they’ve implemented certain protections and controls.

In Curtis’ case, there’s no indication in the complaint that the firm itself was hacked, only the firm’s client.

Photo via iStock

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