Why Is O'Melveny & Myers So 'Spicy' Today?
(And a PSA from ATL: Beware of 'subpoenas' today.)
Earlier today, a reader emailed us:
Google Trends has O'Melveny & Meyers listed as "spicy" today. Any idea why?
Here's a screenshot. It's impressive that, on April 14, OMM is right behind "tax extension" and actually ahead of "irs extension form":
So what could be driving OMM's fame? Its involvement in the high-profile Harry Potter copyright case, in which it's representing Warner Bros. and author J.K. Rowling?
Quite possibly. But there may be an additional (and less fortunate) reason for said "spiciness." From a different reader:
O'Melveny & Myers appears to have been hacked, with their name being listed on some Form AO-088 subpoenas being sent around. I wonder how many people have received these e-mails. They contain a link to click to download the entire subpoena. Is this the first case of a law firm being used to spread a virus?
Actually, that's not entirely true. Although OMM's name appears on fake "subpoenas" making the rounds in cyberspace, it was NOT the firm whose computers were inflitrated. Rather, it was the federal court system whose computers were hacked (which may not be surprising -- government can't afford the same level of cyber-protection as a private law firm).
We learned this after contacting an O'Melveny spokesperson. She helpfully put us in touch with Marty Metz, Director of Information Technology for the firm, who explained the situation:
"The emails come from a uscourts dot gov address. They include a reference to a subpoena in a case that has been long since over, and [some] even misspell O'Melveny's name. It's an internet hoax, a spam attack."
More details, after the jump.
Metz added that email traces show the attack originated out of London this morning. "These spammers are pretty sophisticated," he said. "They are bouncing the messages off the U.S. courts servers. They hit people's inboxes, and if the person doesn't have good spam filtering and open the attachments, they harvest the person's address book and send messages out to [the people in it]."
According to Metz, the U.S. Courts crew sent out a notice about this hoax earlier today. You can also find mention of it on their website:
Notice: Invalid SubpoenasReports have been received of bogus e-mail grand jury subpoenas, purportedly sent by a United States District Court. The e-mails are not a valid communication from a federal court and may contain harmful links. Recipients are warned not to open any links or download any information relating to this e-mail notice. The emails were sent from a uscourts.com address. The federal Judiciary's email address is uscourts.gov. Law enforcement authorities have been notified.
O'Melveny & Myers isn't the only firm mentioned in the fake "subpoenas," Metz added. It appears the spammers had a list of law firm names that they plugged into the faux subpoenas. Such spam and virus attacks are "an unfortunate reality in today's world," he said. "It's why we need to keep our spam filters and virus control up to the date all the time. If you don't know the sender of an email, then don't open it."
As a general rule, it's not a good idea to ignore a subpoena. But if you receive one today by email, especially if it purports to be from O'Melveny & Myers, then ignore away.
Notice: Invalid Subpoenas [U.S. Courts]
(23) Comments
The ghastly ATL redesign has decimated your audience.
You better take emergency steps soon, or this blog is OVER.
who is "brad" and why does he have so many "deals"?
Wow, it's 4 pm eastern and there have only been 20 comments today (about 10% of these comment on the lack of comments too). You're losing it Lat.
the quantity of comments on ATL has plummeted since the redesign.
Is Lat moderating comments? Do people not realize that "guest" is still anonymous? Or has traffic dried up as law students hit the books for finals? (fat chance!)
I am really worried about the future of this blog. It turns out the comments were the best content! Now they're gone, and I'm sad. Please! Someone help!
i am more astonished (though this doesn't have a legal angle) that Youngstown, OH is a more popular search term than IRS extension form!
Today Drudge posted an an article on the foreclosure rate in Youngstown, OH. I think there may be a link.
The only trend I see is how bad ATL is sucking lately. The stories suck, the new format sucks, the time you have to wait for the site and stories to pull up sucks, and those stupid fucking pictures people post suck most of all.
A big clue that the subpoens email was probably from the UK and fake (other than the US gov't does NOT send subpoenas through email since it doesn't qualify as meeting the Civ Pro Service of Process requirement): the email accompanying the supposedly attached subpoena used "organisation" rather than "organization."
The only trend I see is how bad ATL is sucking lately. The stories suck, the load time sucks, the new format sucks, and those pictures people post suck too.
Good job, Lat, of posting something ridiculously inane and driving your blog to the ground with that unnecessary web redesign.
Herschel Walker?
Since its almost exam time, i think there should be a thread on "performance enhancing drugs" in law school
I have decided that I also hate the new layout. Hate it. Part of it is that the page is HUGE. Instead of seeing 15-20 comments on ones screen, I now see four. Lame-o.
HATE IT.
Dear Lat,
The new layout is almost universally disliked. Although their comments are still too spread out, Fashionista's layout is better. I nominate that ATL change to Fashionista's layout and Dealbreaker's comments format.
Someone should investigate whether Lat has recently taken out a policy on this site's life. This "demise", it smacks of conspiracy... bum bum bummmmmgigleegiglgeleeeuummmm
4:16: There is a legal angle to Youngstown, Ohio!
343 U.S. 579 (1952)
(In other words, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, or the Steel Seizure case.)
So I suppose the question is, why is everyone across America suddenly concerned about the limits of the executive power?
LAYOUT SUCKS. SITE SUCKS. DIE
LAYOUT SUCKS. SITE SUCKS. DIE
There are limits on executive power? Huh.
I hate the new design. Used to read every day. No more. It's boring me.
Your story is misleading. The fake subpoenas come from a USCOURTS.COM address, not .GOV. There was no hacking of any government server, nor was their hacking of any private .COM company server. The emails were sent via spoofing, plain and simple.
On a more positive note, I can now post comments again, which I couldn't before the format change. Other than that, though, I have to agree with the other posters -- I don't really care much what the blog looks like, but the content lately has been sub-par. I like the suggestion of 5:07 -- and not just in law school, but in law firms too. In fact, do a survey, because I suspect this is fairly prevalent (although I also suspect energy drinks may be the new performance enhancer).