Law firm Lewis Brisbois hires cyber team after group departure

(Reuters) – Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith said Tuesday that it has hired six attorneys to its cybersecurity practice from rival law firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker.

The move comes after 32 Lewis Brisbois attorneys and 12 business professionals left in January to form a cybersecurity group at Atlanta-founded, midsize labor and employment law firm Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete.

The new hires joining Los Angeles-founded Lewis Brisbois will be spread across four offices. Partner Robert Walker joins the firm in Jackson, Mississippi, along with two associates, and will chair the firms data privacy and cybersecurity practice. Ross Molina joins as a partner in New Orleans; partner Tawana Johnson joins in Atlanta; and another associate will be based in Houston.

The attorneys handle data privacy compliance, pre- and post-incident cybersecurity, and national and international breach response, the firm said.

Walker spent almost four years at Wilson Elser, where he served as co-chair of the cybersecurity and data practice.

Lewis Brisbois co-chairman Bob Smith said in a statement that the new team will expand the firm’s “breach response and counseling” offerings for insurance and corporate-based clients.

A representative from Wilson Elser did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the departures.

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