Tip # 18 – Always be Prepared
“A byte of prevention is worth a gig of cure”…is what Ben Franklin might say if he were still alive and publishing today (think Bezos, with slightly more hair). OK, the imagery is odd, but the adage remains sound –
With the average billing rate of lawyers at $253 and less than 60% of your time being spent practicing law, your time is simply too valuable to play IT security detective.
According to the 2020 Thomson Reuters State of U.S. Small Law Firms report, roughly 60% of a small firm attorney’s time is spent practicing law. That means that 40% is spent elsewhere. And given that practicing law is what attorneys are paid to do, it is no surprise that 64% of respondents said spending too much time on administrative tasks is a significant challenge.
Time being a finite commodity, small firm lawyers should be focused on finding efficient solutions to internal operations and management to optimize the amount of time they can spend practicing law.
In fact, right now, you may:
And most lawyers have no idea the detrimental impact and cost a data breach can wreak upon their lives and law practice.
Have you realized your biggest threat may be internal, not external?
All of these potential security breaches can be avoided with the proper training and monitoring tools that alert someone who is in a position to take corrective action.
A few years back, one of our clients, a leading South Texas law firm came dangerously close to experiencing a data breach.
We always told ourselves security was a top priority – but this day we realized we had to do more.
From the moment that close call occurred, we decided we were going to figure it out…
My team spent hundreds of hours researching, testing, and implementing the security solutions demanded by today’s ever-changing security threats.
Our search was simple: find the best solutions to provide comprehensive protection to our clients – without breaking the bank.
Over many years, we refined our solutions and expanded our layers of security we provided our clients until we finally felt confident.
In the very same way that lawyers are prime targets for data breaches due to their collection of highly sensitive data – so are we, as an IT company. For this reason, we test, use, and depend on these solutions as our businesses depend on them – because they do.
I put my trust in the suite of security solutions we use to protect my livelihood – my business – to ensure both my family and work-family are secure.
Since we standardized this set of security solutions and rolled them out to our clients, I have reached a new-found level of confidence that our company and clients are fully protected. (Along with greatly reduced stress levels!)
Now, I’d like to invite you to take a step to significantly reduce your risk of suffering a data breach so you can stop worrying about security and get back to building your law practice and serving your clients…
Although “that won’t happen to me” is a common thought amongst lawyers,
29% of law firms have been breached.
These data breaches are costing more than ever before,
with an average cost of a data breach for small businesses at $108,000.
And, lost money isn’t the only matter at stake.
Now imagine what would happen to your business if you found yourself spending hours upon hours employing external professionals, trying to minimize the loss of clients, paying your staff more wages as they struggle to get all the work done with the additional workload of addressing a data breach.
Not to mention the damage to your reputation and trust you worked so hard to build.
The proven, comprehensive security solution you can easily implement in your practice to greatly reduce your risk of data breach.
In real-time, a cybercriminal was reading and responding to emails from Jason’s opposing counsel’s email account.
This was NOT the first time I heard of this type of attack from a direct source.
The threat of a compromised email account is far more complex and advanced today than most people realize.
Do you know it is common for cybercriminals to sit in the shadows and read your emails?
This client was about to begin services with us when they were hit with CryptoLocker, then they went dark for 6 months.
As a result, David Eltringham’s personal injury practice lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and future business. The financial impact of this incident is immeasurable.
Do you have automated tools that protect and keep your computers up to date? Few small firms do, leaving themselves exposed to these types of attacks.
On May 14th, 2018, Shannon Smith, a solo family law attorney in northern Connecticut, filed her Notice of Data Breach with the Attorney General’s office.
Nine days prior, she learned an unauthorized party had accessed her case management software.
Just like many solo lawyers, she thought data breaches like this only targeted the big firms. She never thought this would happen to her.
“Almost immediately, our employees experienced an increase in their productivity and gained confidence in the reliability and security of the hardware and software. As a company, we enjoy a great sense of security and confidence in the reliability of our infrastructure.”
“Security+ has enabled me to be far more equipped to handle today’s most relevant cybersecurity threats. Most importantly, the threats I was unprotected from have been addressed so that I can focus on building my new firm.”
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April 29, 2021
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“A byte of prevention is worth a gig of cure”…is what Ben Franklin might say if he were still alive and publishing today (think Bezos, with slightly more hair). OK, the imagery is odd, but the adage remains sound –
COVID has redefined the way law is practiced but hasn’t alleviated any ethical responsibilities…only complicated them. The ABA recently reaffirmed this notion in a Formal Opinion outlining Model Rules for the virtual practice of law (#498) issued March 10, 2021.
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