Riley Pope & Laney LLC

The South Carolina-based law firm Riley Pope & Laney LLC faced a 2024 data breach exposing the personal information of over 7,000 individuals, including clients and potentially employees. The breach stemmed from alleged negligence in safeguarding sensitive data, leading to unauthorized exposure. The lead plaintiff, Jason Warren, initially filed a proposed class-action lawsuit but later voluntarily dismissed the claims after mediation discussions. While the exact nature of the compromised data (e.g., financial records, Social Security numbers, or legal documents) was not specified, the incident highlights significant reputational and legal risks for the firm. The breach did not involve ransomware or a targeted cyber attack but rather a failure in data protection protocols, raising concerns about the firm’s cybersecurity posture and potential regulatory scrutiny under data privacy laws. Clients may face heightened risks of identity theft, fraud, or phishing attacks due to the exposed information.

Source: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/consumer-caught-up-in-law-firms-data-breach-drops-class-action

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/riley-pope-and-laney-llc

"id": "ril4402544102325",
"linkid": "riley-pope-and-laney-llc",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "6/2024",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '7,000+',
                        'industry': 'Legal Services',
                        'location': 'South Carolina, USA',
                        'name': 'Riley Pope & Laney LLC',
                        'type': 'Law Firm'}],
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': '7,000+',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': True,
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal Information']},
 'description': 'A consumer dropped his proposed class action alleging that '
                'the South Carolina-based law firm Riley Pope & Laney LLC '
                'negligently failed to protect the personal information of '
                'more than 7,000 people that was exposed in a 2024 data '
                'breach. Lead plaintiff Jason Warren filed a notice of '
                'voluntary dismissal of his claims in the US District Court '
                'for the District of South Carolina on Tuesday, two months '
                'after the parties moved for a stay of the proceedings pending '
                'mediation.',
 'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential Reputation Damage (Lawsuit '
                                       'Dismissed)',
            'customer_complaints': ['Class Action Lawsuit (Dismissed)'],
            'data_compromised': ['Personal Information'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (Personal Information Exposed)',
            'legal_liabilities': ['Proposed Class Action (Dismissed)']},
 'investigation_status': 'Mediation Pending (Case Dismissed)',
 'references': [{'source': 'US District Court for the District of South '
                           'Carolina (Case Filing)'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': ['Proposed Class Action '
                                             '(Dismissed)']},
 'title': 'Riley Pope & Laney LLC Data Breach (2024)',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}