The legal sector faces unique IT challenges that can make it difficult for organisations to stay competitive and protect sensitive information. As legal professionals increasingly rely on technology to manage client data, streamline processes, and communicate with clients and partners, the need for secure and reliable IT infrastructure has become more important than ever before.
CHALLENGES
Legal organisations are responsible for handling highly sensitive and confidential information, including client data and privileged communications. Cyber threats such as hacking, malware, and phishing attacks can compromise this information, resulting in severe reputational and financial damage. Physical threats such as theft or loss of devices can also lead to the exposure of sensitive data.
A report by DLA Piper found that in 2020, the legal industry had the highest number of reported data breaches of any sector in the UK.
Cybersecurity best practices for the legal industry:
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Although work-from-anywhere access is a key enabler of productivity for law firms, it also makes managing these resources increasingly difficult. With an ever-growing array of connected systems, IT teams must ensure that all networks and applications are running smoothly, securely, and compliantly.
This requires a significant amount of time, effort, and resources to continuously monitor and update each system which can become overwhelming quickly. Additionally, with the added complexity of different types of devices—from desktops to mobile phones—it can be difficult to keep track of every device on the network.
The Growing Importance of IT Support
Read BlogThe legal sector quickly adapted their IT systems during the pandemic to maintain operations and enable employees to work from anywhere, including investing in VPNs and collaboration tools. However this also comes with challenges.
It requires an understanding of both on-premises and cloud solutions which can be complicated for many IT teams. Additionally, providing secure access to sensitive data from remote locations can be a challenge if proper protocols are not implemented. Furthermore, as more devices are added to the network, IT teams will need to ensure that all devices remain secure and compliant with industry regulations—another task that can quickly become overwhelming.
Hybrid Work in the Legal Industry
Legal professionals need to be able to collaborate on documents and other materials in real-time, even if they are not in the same physical location, however this can create challenges, including:
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Legal organisations are subject to numerous compliance and regulatory requirements, including data protection laws, e-discovery rules, and ethical standards. IT systems and processes must be designed and implemented with these requirements in mind to ensure compliance and avoid costly penalties.
However, with such an array of technologies and devices across different locations, it can be difficult to ensure that all systems are compliant. IT teams will also have to review relevant laws and regulations on a regular basis to identify any changes that may need to be implemented, as well as enusre that any new technologies introduced meet the necessary requirements, which can be time-consuming.
How an MSP with the right experience can lift the IT burden:
Many law firms still rely on outdated technology and software, which can be slow, difficult to use, and prone to security vulnerabilities. These legacy systems may be running on older hardware and operating systems, which are no longer supported and may be vulnerable to security threats. Upgrading these systems can be expensive and time-consuming, but failing to do so can lead to inefficiencies and security risks.
Moreover, legacy systems can negatively impact the productivity of legal professionals, as older systems may be slow to load and process data. This can lead to increased time spent on administrative tasks, reducing the amount of time available for billable work.
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Law firms have access to a wealth of valuable information, which is why they’ve become a prime target for cybercriminals. Even before the pandemic, law firms were a top choice for ransomware attacks, and now with the less secure hybrid working environment, that risk is set to increase.
OneAdvanced Cyber Security Services can provide stronger security through our proactive threat intelligence, dedicated teams of experienced security professionals and our ‘Everything’s Covered’ approach to keeping your people and data safe. We can give you that piece of mind that your environment is secure, whilst reducing the risk of a breach which can cause unrecoverable reputational and financial damage.
It’s crucial for employees in the legal sector to be able to work from anywhere, access their required files, and seamlessly collaborate with colleagues and clients. Our Modern Workplace team are helping law firms by providing remote access solutions, collaboration tools, and virtual meeting platforms.
This may involve creating virtual private networks (VPNs) to allow employees to securely access firm resources from home, implementing video conferencing solutions for client meetings, and using collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams to facilitate communication among employees. We can ensure productivity never dips and users have access to the services they need, whilst you can focus on strategic priorities.
Cloud can be hugely advantageous in the legal sector – providing you with wherever and whenever flexibility, allowing you to scale in response to demand, opex costing, and the possibilities for competitive advantage and productivity gains through automation and intelligent data. By leveraging this technology firms are able to streamline processes, improve collaboration and scale to meet changing client demands without hardware or personnel investments.
We recognise that organisations are at different stages in their cloud journey, and we advise, assist, secure and operate wherever you may be. Our range of public, private and hybrid services enable us to provide you with the support you need to fully leverage the power of the cloud and drive your business forward.
We understand the importance for law firms to have robust systems and support in place, so that you never lose billable hours and can focus on gaining new clients and innovating your services. We’re committed to not only keeping the lights on, but propelling you ahead, with delivery models that specifically make space for innovation and a breadth of services that can meet your needs, desktop to data centre.
We are able to support individual applications through to your entire infrastructure environment, creating a tailored solution to suit your business. By adopting our managed services, legal organisations can streamline their IT operations and focus on their core competencies, while also improving security, compliance, costs, and overall business performance - guiding your firm on the journey to a stronger future.
— Nirupa Wikramanayake, Group CIO
Irwin Mitchell
— Nirupa Wikramanayake, Group CIO
Irwin Mitchell
by OneAdvanced PR, Author
