Squire Patton Boggs Acquires Dallas Litigation Boutique

Litigation boutique Yarbrough Law Group has joined Squire Patton Boggs in Dallas, enhancing the firm’s litigation capabilities and continuing its rapid global expansion in cybersecurity and data privacy law.

Yarbrough Law Group president Matt Yarbrough joins the firm as a partner along with an associate and paralegal. Before starting his own firm nearly 10 years ago, he was in private practice at a national firm and served as an Assistant US Attorney with the Department of Justice (“DoJ”) in the Northern District of Texas.

At the DoJ, Mr. Yarbrough led the first Cybercrimes and Criminal Intellectual Property Task Force in the Northern District of Texas, where he prosecuted major cyber-attack cases, including the first data intercept of a hacker ring in US history, known as the “Phonemasters” case. Former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn appointed Mr. Yarbrough as Special Counsel to create the Texas Internet Bureau – the first regional forensics lab of its kind for the FBI and state law enforcement – to fight identity theft, internet fraud, and data breaches. He also prosecuted numerous high-profile white-collar criminal cases involving securities, banking, health care, and business fraud schemes.

“Institutions around the world recognize that the threat of cyberattacks and data breaches are not going away any time soon,” said Squire Patton Boggs chair and global CEO Mark Ruehlmann. “Matt is a pioneer in the field and his addition is another key component to the industry-leading team we are building.”

Commenting on his move Mr. Yarbrough said, “Joining a firm with the global reach and reputation of Squire Patton Boggs will allow us to scale-up our practice to satisfy pent-up demand and offer support to clients in new areas. This is an exciting opportunity.”

“Matt’s arrival brings a formidable trial lawyer with a national reputation and important cybersecurity and data privacy expertise,” said Michael Forshey, Squire Patton Boggs’ Dallas managing partner. “The breadth of his experience and technical skills are a perfect fit and we are delighted to welcome Matt and his team to the firm.”

Over the past year, Squire Patton Boggs has made a number of notable international hires in the cybersecurity and data privacy space:
•Tony Scott, former Federal Chief Information Officer for the US Government under President Obama joined the firm’s Washington DC and San Francisco offices. He was previously CIO at companies including VMWare, Microsoft, Disney, and General Motors;
•Simon Jones, former Leeds head of technology and global head of automotive at Eversheds Sutherland joined the firm in the UK;
•Tara McGraw Swaminatha, a former federal prosecutor in the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section at the Department of Justice (DOJ) joined in Washington DC from DLA Piper;
•Robin Campbell and Elliot Golding joined in Washington DC from Crowell Moring. Ms. Campbell co-chairs of the firm’s Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice;
•Monika Kuschewsky joined the firm’s Brussels office from Covington & Burling as a partner.
•Scott Warren, former general counsel for Sega and senior attorney at Microsoft Japan joined the firm’s Tokyo office.

Mr. Yarbrough is an internationally recognized expert and highly sought after speakers in the area of cybersecurity and privacy. He has appeared on numerous national television programs as an expert and authored dozens of articles on developments in cyber law. He has been an adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, teaching courses on cyber law, computer litigation and trial advocacy. He continues to serve as a faculty member for numerous continuing legal education conferences for Fortune 500 companies and universities.

Source:  www.squirepattonboggs.com