On October 16, 2025, the St. Louis law firm Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis & Giljum, LLP appeared on the leak site of the Akira ransomware group. The firm, which handles business law, estate planning, litigation, and other matters for individuals, families, corporations, and public entities, had more than 31 GB of internal files exfiltrated. Public reporting indicates the attackers plan to publish documents containing client names, dates of birth, phone numbers, addresses, driver’s licenses, and passwords.
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Reported Details of the Breach
Available reporting describes the incident as a ransomware attack in which Akira gained access to the firm’s systems, copied sensitive files, and is now threatening to release them. The leak site lists Shands Elbert explicitly and states that additional corporate documents will be uploaded soon. No exact number of affected clients has been confirmed, but the firm’s long-standing practice in estate planning, family-related litigation, and personal legal services means many ordinary people and their families likely have records stored there.
Names, DOBs, phones, addresses, driver’s licenses, and passwords are among the data types referenced in the attackers’ posting. The firm has not yet issued a public statement detailing the timeline of the intrusion or the precise scope of exposed client files.
Why This Matters for You and Your Family
When a law firm that manages wills, trusts, divorce records, employment disputes, or small-business contracts is breached, the information exposed is deeply personal. A single leaked document can contain your home address, date of birth, phone number, driver’s license number, and sometimes passwords or financial details tied to estate plans. Once that data reaches the public leak site, it can be downloaded by anyone and resold or used to target you or your relatives.