Michael J. Christopher

Representative Matters

• Coordinated incident response services for hundreds of clients, of all sizes and in all industry sectors (including, for example, healthcare, insurance, financial services, real estate, technology, retail, construction, and manufacturing), to assist them in recovering from, investigating, and responding to cybersecurity and data privacy incidents. Such incidents have included network intrusions, ransomware encryption and data extortion attacks, business email compromises, fraudulent wire transfer schemes, data loss/theft events, and internal threats, among others.
• Provided fully managed incident response services to a social media services company that fell victim to a ransomware attack. This included, among other things, the identification of resources to assist with network restoration, the facilitation and management of a complex forensic investigation, the provision of strategic guidance with respect to external communications and threat actor negotiations, and the identification and fulfillment of applicable notification/reporting obligations, including to current/former employees, members of the public, and regulators.
• Developed and executed strategy for a nonprofit, medical billing services company to respond to a widespread business email compromise impacting employee personal information and patient-protected health information. This included, among other things, the facilitation and management of a complex forensic investigation, the identification and fulfillment of applicable notification/reporting obligations, the provision of defense services in response to a related class action lawsuit, and the preparation and coordination of responses to follow-on regulatory inquiries.
• Guided the incident response efforts of an insurance agency in connection with a business email compromise resulting in the wire transfer of nearly $8,000,000 to a fraudulent bank account in Hong Kong. This included the coordination of funds recovery efforts involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation and relevant banking institutions, as well as the provision of communications guidance with respect to stakeholders associated with the transaction.
• Defended several class action lawsuits involving insureds across numerous industries attendant to data breach allegations and/or pixel tracking matters.
• Actively researched and analyzed difficult legal issues as part of team investigations and litigations. Drafted related memoranda, pleadings, motions, briefs, and reports of findings.
• Interviewed critical fact and expert witnesses and drafted summaries, affidavits, and reports. Participated in and directed depositions. Presented and argued in open court, and conducted examinations and cross-examinations.
• Managed the logistics of discovery for a number of cases, including several that involved foreign witnesses and documents. Oversaw a team of lawyers, negotiated with opposing counsel, collaborated with co-defense attorneys, and advocated for clients in discovery disputes.