Consider this scenario: A young couple entrusts you, an
experienced real estate attorney, to assist them in the purchase of
their first home. Days before closing, your unsecured email account
gets hacked and your client receives an email, which to all
appearances is from you, telling them to wire funds to a
third-party account instead of bringing the cash to closing. You
only find out about "your" email to your client after the
transfer has been made and your clients' savings, accumulated
over many years, is gone. What exactly do you think you can say to
your clients to make it better?
This is not a fantasy – it happens far too often, as noted
in a recent ABA Journal article. We, in fact, were
involved on behalf of the depository bank in this exact situation
in Illinois, where clients followed what they thought were the
instructions of their attorney.
