// CONFIRMED RANSOMWARE ATTACKS · SECTOR
Ransomnews has confirmed 244 ransomware attacks on law firms between September 2018 and June 2026, each one verified against a public source such as a breach notification, regulatory filing, court record or press report. That is 2.6% of the 9,520 confirmed incidents in the dataset. So far in 2026, 19 have been confirmed, against 49 in 2025 and 39 in 2024. The United States accounts for 195 of them (80%), with victims recorded in 19 countries in total. Where the operator is attributed, LockBit leads with 19 confirmed victims. A ransom payment is on the public record in 12 cases and a refusal in 19; the outcome is unrecorded in the remaining 213.
Confirmed ransomware attacks on law firms by year
The current year is a partial count. Confirmation lags the attack itself, so recent months keep filling in after the fact; read a low figure for the latest year as incomplete rather than as a decline.
| Year | Confirmed attacks | Ransom paid (public) | Ransom refused (public) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 | 44 | 3 | 5 |
| 2022 | 16 | 0 | 3 |
| 2023 | 54 | 4 | 4 |
| 2024 | 39 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 49 | 0 | 2 |
| 2026 (year to date) | 19 | 1 | 0 |
Which ransomware groups attack law firms most
The operator is attributed in 194 of the 244 confirmed incidents. Counts are confirmed victims, not leak-site claims, so they run well below the totals the groups publish about themselves. Group names link to the live Ransomtracker profile where one exists.
Most active groups by confirmed victims
Where the confirmed attacks on law firms fall
Country shares carry a reporting bias. United States breach-notification law and SEC disclosure rules push far more incidents onto the public record than most jurisdictions, which makes American attacks easier to confirm and inflates the US share of any confirmed dataset.
Most affected countries
Ransom payment outcomes for law firms
Among the 31 confirmed law firm incidents where the outcome is on the public record, 12 paid and 19 refused, a disclosed payment rate of 38.7%. The remaining 213 carry no public statement either way. Victims that pay have every incentive to stay quiet and public bodies are the most likely to announce a refusal, so treat this as the disclosed rate, not the true one. The ransomware payment rate analysis explains how the disclosed rate has moved since 2018 and how it compares with incident-response firm samples.
Largest confirmed ransomware attacks on law firms by records exposed
Record counts are recorded only where a named source disclosed them, which is the minority of cases, so this table ranks disclosed impact rather than true impact.
| Date | Organisation | Sector | Location | Records | Group | Ransom paid | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2023 | Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP | Legal | New York, United States | 3,445,537 | Black Basta | Unknown | ago.vermont.gov |
| February 2023 | Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | Legal | California, United States | 637,620 | — | Unknown | hipaajournal.com |
| January 2021 | Bricker and Eckler | Legal | Ohio, United States | 430,185 | — | Yes | ago.vermont.gov |
| May 2023 | Houser, LLP | Legal | California, United States | 370,001 | ALPHV/BlackCat | Unknown | oag.ca.gov |
| May 2023 | Greylock McKinnon Associates Inc. | Legal | Massachusetts, United States | 341,650 | — | Unknown | apps.web.maine.gov |
| June 2021 | Warner Norcross + Judd LLP | Legal | Michigan, United States | 255,160 | LockBit | Unknown | oag.ca.gov |
| November 2022 | Bailey Cavalieri LLC | Legal | Ohio, United States | 203,136 | ALPHV/BlackCat | Unknown | apps.web.maine.gov |
| February 2021 | Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann, LLC | Legal | Louisiana, United States | 159,387 | Darkside | No | dailymail.co.uk |
| July 2024 | Berman & Rabin, P.A. | Legal | Kansas, United States | 151,944 | — | Unknown | maine.gov |
| August 2025 | Rodenburg Law Firm | Legal | North Dakota, United States | 81,307 | Akira | Unknown | maine.gov |
Most recent confirmed ransomware attacks on law firms
The 25 most recently confirmed of 244 incidents, newest first. Every row links to the public source it was verified against.
| Date | Organisation | Sector | Location | Records | Group | Ransom paid | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | X-Copper Professional Corporation | Legal | Markham, Canada | — | Money Message | Unknown | toronto.citynews.ca |
| May 2026 | Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. | Legal | Maryland, United States | — | Qilin | Unknown | mm.nh.gov |
| May 2026 | Law Offices of Rakesh Mehrotra | Legal | Virginia, United States | 1,148 | Triple X | Unknown | — |
| May 2026 | McCoyd, Parkas & Ronan LLP | Legal | New York, United States | 1,240 | — | Unknown | maine.gov |
| May 2026 | Fox Rothschild LLP | Legal | Pennsylvania, United States | 531 | LeakedData/Silent Ransom Group | Unknown | law.com |
| May 2026 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP | Legal | New York, United States | — | LeakedData/Silent Ransom Group | Yes | legalcheek.com |
| April 2026 | Chartwell Law | Legal | Pennsylvania, United States | — | LeakedData/Silent Ransom Group | Unknown | mass.gov |
| April 2026 | Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP | Legal | Ohio, United States | — | Spy Corporate | Unknown | mass.gov |
| April 2026 | irmler. rechtsanwälte | Legal | Schwerin, Germany | — | Beast | Unknown | irmler.org |
| March 2026 | Parker Lipman LLP | Legal | Colorado, United States | 1,120 | INC | Unknown | maine.gov |
| March 2026 | Robinette Legal Group, PLLC | Legal | West Virginia, United States | — | — | Unknown | mm.nh.gov |
| March 2026 | Jones Day | Legal | District of Columbia, United States | — | LeakedData/Silent Ransom Group | Unknown | databreaches.net |
| February 2026 | Reynolds, DeMarco & Boland, LLC | Legal | Rhode Island, United States | — | Akira | Unknown | mm.nh.gov |
| February 2026 | Singleton Schreiber LLP | Legal | California, United States | 232 | LeakedData/Silent Ransom Group | Unknown | maine.gov |
| February 2026 | Katz, Kantor, Stonestreet & Buckner, PLLC | Legal | West Virginia, United States | — | Kairos | Unknown | katzkantor.com |
| January 2026 | The Carlson Law Firm | Legal | Texas, United States | 250 | INC | Unknown | carlsonattorneys.com |
| January 2026 | Herren Caflisch Rutsch - Notariat & Verwaltungen | Legal | Bern, Switzerland | — | Qilin | Unknown | schwarztorstrasse31.ch |
| January 2026 | Langley Twigg Law | Legal | Ahuriri, New Zealand | — | Anubis | Unknown | langleytwigg.co.nz |
| January 2026 | HARTE-BAVENDAMM Rechtsanwälte PartG mbB | Legal | Hamburg, Germany | — | Qilin | Unknown | harte-bavendamm.de |
| December 2025 | Chapter 13 Trustee Office of Rod Danielson | Legal | California, United States | 63,857 | INC | Unknown | maine.gov |
| December 2025 | Elmore Goldsmith Kelley & deHoll, P.A. | Legal | South Carolina, United States | — | INC | Unknown | maine.gov |
| November 2025 | Foster & Eldridge, LLP | Legal | Massachusetts, United States | 325 | Akira | Unknown | mm.nh.gov |
| November 2025 | M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers | Legal | California, United States | — | INC | Unknown | oag.ca.gov |
| November 2025 | Tlusty, Kennedy & Glascock, S.C. | Legal | Wisconsin, United States | — | Qilin | No | ag.idaho.gov |
| November 2025 | Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri | Legal | California, United States | — | Qilin | Unknown | lpeplaw.com |
Frequently asked questions
How many ransomware attacks on law firms have been confirmed?
Ransomnews has confirmed 244 ransomware attacks on law firms since September 2018, including 19 so far in 2026. Each one is verified against a public source such as a breach notification, regulatory filing or press report. The true total is higher, because many victims never disclose; confirmed counts are a floor, not a ceiling.
Which ransomware group attacks law firms most often?
LockBit, with 19 confirmed victims, followed by Akira (17) and Black Basta (16). These are confirmed victims, not leak-site claims, counted among the 194 incidents where the operator is attributed.
Which country has the most confirmed law firm ransomware attacks?
The United States, with 195 of the 244 confirmed incidents (80%). The United Kingdom is next with 12. Part of the gap is exposure and part is reporting: US breach-notification and SEC disclosure rules put more incidents on the public record than most jurisdictions.
How often do law firm ransomware victims pay the ransom?
Among the 31 confirmed law firm incidents with a public outcome, 12 paid and 19 refused, a disclosed payment rate of 38.7%. Most victims never state whether they paid, and those who pay have the least reason to say so, so the disclosed rate understates real payment behaviour. The payment rate analysis tracks this figure since 2018.
What is the largest confirmed law firm ransomware attack by records exposed?
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP (New York, United States, December 2023), with 3,445,537 records exposed according to ago.vermont.gov. Record counts exist only where a source disclosed them, so this ranks disclosed impact.
How to read this page. Every incident counted here was verified by Ransomnews against at least one public source. Leak-site listings alone do not qualify, because operators inflate, duplicate and occasionally fabricate claims, so these totals are a defensible floor rather than a full census. Records exposed and ransom outcomes appear only where a named source disclosed them. The page is regenerated from the live database, which refreshes weekly. Cite as: Ransomnews Confirmed Ransomware Attacks Dataset, ransomnews.com, with a link to this page. Bulk access and methodology questions: [email protected]. See also the monthly ransomware statistics and the Ransomtracker.