SEC Wins Access to Some Covington & Burling Clients’ Names
- Judge allows limited release of names in data breach probe
- Law firms argued ruling weakens attorney-client privilege
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Washington, DC.
Photographer: Graeme Sloan/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Covington & Burling LLP must turn over the names of seven clients whose data was compromised in a cyberattack to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, despite objections by the firm and others that to do so would weaken attorney-client privilege.
The SEC had asked in March for the names of almost 300 “public company clients” of the law firm, saying it needed them to determine if the hackers had used the information they stole to engage in illicit trading.