Law firms operate in an environment where trust is everything.

Clients hand over confidential personal information, commercially sensitive documents and, in many cases, information relating to some of the most important matters in their lives or businesses.

That makes technology essential to the modern legal practice, but it also makes poor IT management a significant business risk.

From cyberattacks and data loss to downtime and inefficient systems, the right IT strategy can help law firms protect its clients while enabling its people to work more effectively.

Law firms are an attractive target for cybercriminals

Legal practices can hold large volumes of valuable and sensitive information.

Client records, financial information, contracts, correspondence and commercially confidential documents can all make law firms an attractive target for cybercriminals.

And attackers don’t necessarily need to defeat sophisticated security systems.

A convincing phishing email, compromised password or unpatched device can sometimes be enough to create an opportunity.

That’s why cybersecurity needs to extend beyond installing antivirus software.

Law firms should consider multiple layers of protection, including strong identity and access controls, multi-factor authentication, security updates, email protection, endpoint security, reliable backups and employee awareness.

The objective isn’t simply to prevent attacks. It’s to make the entire firm more resilient if something does go wrong.

Downtime has a direct business cost

For a legal professional, an unavailable system can quickly become more than an inconvenience.

If employees can’t access case files, emails, practice management software or documents, productive and potentially billable time is lost.

Deadlines don’t disappear because the IT system isn’t working.

A proactive approach to IT management can reduce this risk by identifying potential issues before they develop into serious disruption.

Regular monitoring, maintenance, updates and support can help keep systems performing reliably while giving employees somewhere to turn when a problem does occur.

Your backup is only valuable if you can recover from it

Most firms understand the importance of backing up their information.

The more important question is: could you recover it when you really needed to?

A backup strategy should consider what information is protected, how frequently it is backed up, where copies are stored and how quickly critical systems could be restored following an incident.

Recovery should also be tested.

Whether the cause is ransomware, hardware failure, human error or another unexpected event, having a clear business continuity and disaster recovery plan can dramatically reduce the impact of disruption.

Hybrid working creates new IT considerations

Legal work is no longer confined to a desk inside the office.

Solicitors and other legal professionals may need secure access to documents and systems from home, client premises, court or while travelling.

That flexibility can improve productivity, but only when the technology supporting it has been configured securely.

Devices, accounts, cloud services and access permissions all need appropriate protection.

A well-designed cloud and IT environment can give employees the flexibility they need without unnecessarily increasing the firm’s exposure to security risks.

Technology should make legal professionals more productive

IT strategy shouldn’t only be about preventing problems.

The right technology can also remove friction from everyday work.

Reliable systems, appropriate cloud services and well-integrated tools can make collaboration easier and reduce the time employees spend dealing with technical problems.

For partners and practice managers, outsourcing IT management can also provide access to specialist expertise without requiring the firm to build every capability internally.

Most importantly, fee-earners get to spend more of their time doing what clients are paying them to do.

Is your law firm’s IT ready for the next few years?

Technology requirements change as a legal practice grows.

New employees, additional offices, evolving cybersecurity threats and changing ways of working can expose weaknesses in an IT environment that previously appeared adequate.

That’s why it’s worth periodically asking:

• Are our systems appropriately protected?
• Can employees work securely from different locations?
• Do we know how quickly we could recover from a serious outage?
• Are recurring IT problems affecting productivity?
• Do we have the right expertise available when something goes wrong?

If any of those questions are difficult to answer, it may be time to review your IT strategy.

IT support for law firms

Ashdown Solutions helps businesses create secure, reliable and productive technology environments.

From managed IT support and cybersecurity to cloud solutions, backup and business continuity, the goal is straightforward: reduce technology risk and give your team confidence that their IT will be there when they need it.

For a legal firm, that means less time worrying about technology, and more time focused on your clients.

Want to understand where your firm’s IT may be creating unnecessary risk?

Speak to Ashdown Solutions about reviewing your current IT environment.