The 14 lawyers left the boutique practice of Nelson Brown Hamilton & Krekstein in 2014 and took their laptops with them. After Pennsylvania-based Nelson Brown sued for damages under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the 14 erased the information on the laptops and returned them. While Nelson Brown is concerned that confidential client data as well as strategic internal information may have been on the devices, Lewis Brisbois says that the laptops were needed to finish off some work in progress for clients. Both firms have engaged experts to work out what files were held on the machines.

Three hours

No settlement was forthcoming between the two firms as a result of the three hours they spent in front of the magistrate judge. Source: ABA