IT Support for Law Firms That Keep Client Confidences Safe

Deadlines that don’t move. Court filings, closings and discovery dates don’t wait for a slow computer or a locked account.

Documents everywhere. Case files live in a document system, in email, on laptops and sometimes on a personal phone. Knowing who can open what gets harder every year.

Wire fraud around closings and settlements. Criminals watch for money moving and send fake payment instructions that look like they came from you or opposing counsel.

Working from home and court. Attorneys need their files at home, at the courthouse and on the road, safely.

The ethics question. Your professional rules expect reasonable efforts to protect client information, and you may not be sure what “reasonable” looks like for your systems.

The cyber insurance form. The renewal asks detailed questions about MFA, backups and training, and you want your answers to be true.

We keep your systems running. Ongoing care for computers, network and email, with a real person to call.

We help lock down client files. MFA, sensible access to case folders, and encryption, which scrambles data so it’s unreadable without the right key.

We make remote work safer. Secure ways to reach your files from home or court.

We help your team spot fake payment requests. Plain English training on phishing and wire fraud, and a simple call-back habit for payment changes.

We help you write it down. Clear records of how your systems are protected, so you can show what reasonable efforts you’ve made.

We help you answer the insurance form honestly. We’ll walk through the technical questions with you.

This section is a plain English overview to help you understand what the rules ask for. It isn’t legal advice. For questions about what applies to your firm, talk with your attorney. Our role is to help you meet these requirements on the technology side and document the work. The responsibility for your program stays with your firm, and we don’t promise or guarantee compliance.

Confidentiality: ABA Model Rule 1.6(c) and New Jersey RPC 1.6(f)

ABA Model Rule 1.6(c) says a lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client. New Jersey’s version is RPC 1.6(f), and its comment specifically includes electronically stored information. The comments say a breach isn’t automatically a violation if the lawyer made reasonable efforts, and list factors like how sensitive the information is, how likely a disclosure is without more safeguards, and the cost and difficulty of those safeguards. A client can also ask for extra security measures.

Competence with technology: ABA Model Rule 1.1, Comment 8

The ABA’s comment to Rule 1.1 says keeping up includes understanding the benefits and risks of relevant technology. Your bar’s rules are the final word, so check New Jersey’s current rules and opinions with your ethics counsel.

Supervising outside help: Model Rule 5.3

When nonlawyers outside your firm, like an IT provider, handle client information, the rules expect you to make reasonable efforts to make sure their conduct fits your obligations. That’s one reason it helps to have your IT provider’s practices in writing.

New Jersey’s data breach law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-161 to 56:8-166)

New Jersey’s Identity Theft Prevention Act covers any business that does business in New Jersey, and any public entity, that keeps computerized records with personal information. If there’s a breach of New Jersey residents’ personal information, you have to tell the affected people in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay. Before you tell them, the law says you must report the breach to the New Jersey State Police. The State Police and the NJCCIC (New Jersey Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell) provide an online form for that report. If you decide misuse of the information isn’t reasonably possible, the law says to document that decision in writing and keep it for five years.

Wire fraud and business email compromise

This isn’t a regulation, but it’s the risk we hear about most. The FBI calls it business email compromise: a criminal gets into, or imitates, an email account and sends convincing payment instructions. The FBI asks victims to report it right away at ic3.gov (the Internet Crime Complaint Center) and to contact their bank to try to stop the transfer. The simplest protection is a habit: confirm any new or changed payment instructions with a phone call to a number you already have, never one from the email.