Over the last few years, many law firms have been on the defense—and we’re not talking about in the courtroom. Legal departments and law firms process many types of sensitive information, including patent disputes, employment contracts, medical records, bank information and even government secrets, making them an enticing target for bad actors looking to steal and monetize information. What makes this situation worse is that many times when firms are breached, they are not even aware it happened.
Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to safeguard client and business information. According to the American Bar Association’s 2022 TechReport, many firms are using some type of security tools in their practice to help protect against security breaches. That said, only 40.1% of those surveyed are using encryption in their email and 49.2% are using file encryption tools, leaving a lot of room for improvement. Because safeguarding against a breach helps reduce your risk of lost billable hours, having to pay hefty consulting fees for breach recovery, and could prevent you from dealing with lost or destroyed files.
If you are wondering how legal professionals can safeguard their clients’ information while keeping up with increasing regulations, here are a few easy steps you can take to ensure your firm is up to the challenge.
Rally your colleagues from across departments to form a strong Information Governance (IG) team. Together, you can ensure that your policies cover all types of information and the tools you and your teams use daily.
Determine the potential consequences should the information your organization holds be lost or exposed. Assess the risks for all information types and make sure your leadership and team members are aware of risks associated with breaches caused by internal and external sources or by general negligence.
Start by focusing on safeguarding your most sensitive data like HR records, client files, and crucial business documents. Then, extend your policies to cover email, social media, shared drives, and personal devices used for business purposes.
Define clear retention periods for different types of records to stay compliant. There should be procedures in place for regular destruction and what to do in case of an audit or legal hold.
With a digital document management system, legal professionals can automate retention schedules to save valuable time and money. A digital solution should automatically classify information as it is created and provide continual updates on relevant legal and regulatory record-keeping requirements.
By implementing these steps, you can fortify your data security, navigate regulations confidently, and earn and maintain your clients’ trust in the digital age. Together with your team, you’ve got this! And, if you need some help developing your plan, we’re right here to help! Just drop us a note, and we’ll contact you.
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