Latham & Watkins Says Dozens of Sites Impersonated Paris Partner

Latham & Watkins LLP has sued dozens of websites it says are using misleading domain names to impersonate the firm and at least of one its partners in violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

The websites names all start with “LW” and include some kind of location indicator that looks similar to domain names the law firm actually owns, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday.

The complaint says a fraudster used the domain names to “impersonate a Latham partner in Latham’s Paris office” in order to “collect payment on falsified invoices.” The firm alleges “the fraudster used country identifiers associated with France to make the fraudulent email appear legitimate.”

“At least 50 third-parties were contacted by the scammer,” the firm says.

Latham says the alleged scammer would use one of the domain names to create an email address to impersonate the Parisian partner and then email third parties to notify them of fake unpaid invoices. The scammer allegedly ended the email with a signature block using the firm’s trademark and a link to its legitimate website.

Latham is seeking transfer of the domains involved in the alleged scam to it and, among other things, its attorneys’ fees and costs.

Latham is the latest law firm to accuse a website of impersonating the firm’s attorneys.

The case has been assigned to Judge Claude M. Hilton.

Latham is representing itself.

The case is Latham & Watkins LLP v. LW-IUF.com, E.D. Va., No. 1:23-cv-01486, complaint filed 10/31/23.