2024 Law Firm Data Security Guide: How to Keep Your Law Firm Secure

Law firm data security should be a top priority for any practice, and here’s why: Clients trust you with their most confidential information.

Since clients entrust lawyers with so much of their sensitive data, law firms make prime targets for cybercrime. According to the 2023 ABA Cybersecurity TechReport, 29% of law firms experienced a form of security breach. You don’t want your law firm to become part of that statistic.

So how do you mitigate your firm’s risk of data breaches and keep your clients’ data as secure as possible? As a legal professional, it’s crucial to stay up to date with the latest legal technology. But, with technology constantly evolving, where do you start?

Here, we’ll outline the fundamentals of law firm data security in 2024.

Law Firm Data Security 101

To hackers and criminals, law firms are remarkably interesting. Valuable information—like trade secrets, intellectual property, merger and acquisition details, personally identifiable information (PII), and confidential attorney-client-privileged data—attracts the ill-intentioned to your firm.

Despite these risks, law firms are obligated to protect their clients’ information. If criminals penetrate your firm’s security, the consequences can be extensive—ranging from minor embarrassments to serious legal issues, including:

• Compromised communications due to phished or compromised email accounts
• Inability to access firm information due to ransomware (i.e., where hackers encrypt files and demand money to restore access)
• Public leaks of personal or business information (e.g., on social media)
• Loss of public and client trust in your firm
• Malpractice allegations and lawsuits

What are your ethical and regulatory obligations?

Ethically (and professionally), it’s your duty to protect client data and to disclose your error if a breach does occur.

According to the American Bar Association (ABA) Rule 1.6: Confidentiality of Information, lawyers should “make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.”

To comply with the obligations of the American Bar Association, you must make reasonable efforts to protect your law firm’s data—this could mean implementing a cybersecurity plan, securing your mobile devices, improving communication practices through email, and vetting legal tech providers.

It’s also important to consider these ethical responsibilities and best practices when adding legal technology to your firm’s toolkit. In many cases, legal technology can help you meet your regulatory obligations by better protecting your data, and therefore client data, via streamlined processes (with less room for manual error), enhanced security infrastructure, and encryption.

HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA, SHIELD, and state-specific breach notification laws

Data security laws can vary with location. It’s your firm’s responsibility to understand your legal responsibilities in the event of a breach.

• HIPAA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that requires healthcare providers and “business associates” to protect protected health information (PHI) from inadvertent disclosure.
• GDPR: To help address global needs for enhanced data security, in 2018, Europe introduced a unified data protection law, the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). GDPR—which strives to unify the regulatory environment for businesses handling personal data—requires enhanced protection of personal data belonging to EU individuals. While GDPR currently applies to firms in Europe, its regulations could affect your firm, as many states are beginning to enforce new GDPR-inspired statutes in 2023. So, it may be a good idea to learn more about GDPR.
• CCPA: In 2018, the state of California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which came into effect in 2020. The CCPA strives to mirror the GDPR and requires enhanced protection of personal data for California residents. In 2023, an amendment to the CCPA, Proposition 24, the CPRA, came into effect. The CCPA, as amended, gives California consumers additional privacy protections.
• SHIELD: Similarly, New York has introduced the Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act (SHIELD Act), which introduces a requirement for companies to develop, implement, and maintain “reasonable safeguards to protect the security, confidentiality, and integrity of private information” of New York residents.

6 Best practices for protecting your law firm’s data

There’s no one way to lock down your law firm’s data. Instead, consider a defense in depth for data security that employs numerous checks and takes advantage of the latest legal tech. Mac users can start with these security tips; then, for whatever systems you use, consider these best practices for your firm’s security.

1. Create and implement a data security policy at your firm

A surprising majority of security issues begin with simple user error—not tech failures.

• Make a clear, easy-to-follow plan for data security and share it with everyone at your firm.
• Educate employees and enforce procedures such as using two-factor authentication for logins, only using apps vetted by the firm, or a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy for employees using their own devices.

2. Continuously train staff on mitigating data risk

Don’t assume that everyone knows how to spot and avoid a phishing email—open a dialogue and continue to train employees to avoid accidental user errors and promote law firm data security best practices. As part of your law firm’s cybersecurity protocols, require training upon hire and periodically (usually once a year) thereafter.

3. Use strong passwords

Always. Is your password simple and guessable, like your daughter’s birthday or—please, no—“123456”? Do you use the same password for every login? If so, you could be setting yourself up as an easy target for hackers.

• Create better passwords: For increased password security, go for something complex and long. Use a password management tool to help ensure passwords remain secure and simplify password management.

4. Encrypt, encrypt, encrypt

Never overlook this relatively simple and highly effective measure. Encryption translates your data—whether stored in an email, a local hard drive, an internet browser, or a cloud application—into a secret code, which then requires a key or password to access it.

• Keep an eye out for applications that will take care of encryption for you!

5. Secure your communications

One of the primary ways for hackers to intercept your data is in your communications. As part of your firm’s data security plan, review any vulnerabilities across your communication channels and look to mitigate them.

6. Consider access control

Everyone on your staff doesn’t need to know everything. Be intentional when considering granting permission to view specific matters. Be sure to enforce the principles of Least Privilege and Need to Know.

Is the cloud secure enough for law firms?

Cybersecurity for law firms requires heightened responsibilities for ensuring data security and privacy, and cloud-based software can be a powerful way to get your firm in order. Indeed, in recent years, cloud software has become increasingly more secure than the data security provided by traditional servers in many ways.

While certain inherent risks come with handling sensitive client data in the cloud—such as the potential for data breaches—reputable cloud service providers offer security measures to mitigate risk.

And, though new security risks and considerations will emerge, investment in measures to keep digital information safe is growing in kind. As a Gartner article on global security and risk management spending in 2024 outlined, it’s predicted that worldwide end-user spending on security and risk management will increase by 14.4% in 2024.

5 Benefits of the cloud

By moving to legal cloud computing services, your law firm can likely benefit from the following:

1. Improved security: When used appropriately, reputable cloud-based solutions are secure. Increasingly, using the cloud can improve your firm’s security by taking advantage of built-in security measures.
2. Easier software updates: Instead of wasting time and money manually updating your team’s on-premise software, you can benefit from regular, automatic software updates from cloud providers.
3. VPN redundancy: The cloud lets you work from anywhere, with secure access to your firm’s information—without needing a VPN.
4. Enhanced compatibility: Cloud-based software companies make it simple to connect with other tools to get the most out of your applications.
5. Fewer IT requests and costs: Quality cloud-based software providers offer top-tier support—like phone support, live chat, and a knowledge center—to all users. These types of support features mean less time and budget spent on resolving basic IT questions from your team.

Final thoughts on data security and privacy for law firms

What should take priority when it comes to data security for your law firm? Start analyzing and improving your data security as soon as possible. It’s always better to be proactive. You’ll avoid the negative consequences of a cyber attack or data breach.

Protecting your clients and your law firm’s data is more than just a good thing to do. It’s ethically and professionally critical to your role as a lawyer.

And some of the latest legal technology can take your security even further while also improving your firm’s overall efficiency.