Law firms move to the cloud

Cloud computing offers many benefits for firms that need data storage and information services and functions that would be difficult, and expensive, to provide in-house, technology experts say. It does "lower the barrier to entry for firms on a leaner budget," but "the key question any lawyer needs to ask is 'What's the worst case scenario'," according to Bret Cohen, a lawyer who specializes in privacy and information management law. Lawyers have an ethical duty to maintain the confidentiality and security of client files. Fulfilling that duty protects the interests of the client and the firm. The worst that could happen is that client or other confidential information would be lost or its security breached and that the lawyer or firm would be held responsible, Cohen, of the firm Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C., said. "When sending things electronically you need to know what you are doing and what risks you take," said Shawn Levin, president of Avid Practice, a technology consulting firm that counts many law and medical practices among its clients. Cloud computing, which allows lawyers to access client files securely from home or other locations outside the firm's offices, can improve productivity and convenience, particularly for practices that have a mobile workforce, said Kristopher C. Madore, Avid Practice's operations director. In a law firm with good integrated technology many functions can be automated, such as creating files, sending emails and reminding someone to call a client, Madore said. Before investing in cloud computing, firms have to know their objectives and "not only have to make the right decision, they have to execute it properly," Levin said. Firms also need to assess how willing they are "to change the workflow process" in their office, Levin said, as well as factor in how changes would fit with what lies ahead, including the technology-oriented habits of the youngest generation of lawyers. There is always some risk when you open access to the Internet and use portable devices, but encryption - especially that which is "almost 100 percent reliable" - is the answer to many security issues and it should be built-in when information is transmitted outside the network, Levin said. "A lot of times what I tell [firms] is that, despite what you hear, the cloud is more secure than what you have now," Madore said. Most law firms don't need to be afraid of coming into the sights of hackers' whose primary targets are large, high value collections of sensitive data, he said. Many cloud providers' data centers are "biometrically secured," Madore said. Although "the typical cloud provider is more secure than what a firm might be able to build for themselves," firms can lessen risks by how they structure their agreement with the cloud provider, said William Huber, a CohnReznick managing director who advises firms on how to use technology. Huber said law firms may want to opt for a cloud provider that stores their information - particularly work product and communication such as email - on dedicated, rather than "multi-tenant," hardware. "Some large cloud providers don't give you a lot of control over how data is stored and how systems are configured - you might have better luck with a local cloud provider" that can give your law firm dedicated machines, Huber said. Firms also need to have someone other than the cloud provider to monitor the system for break-ins and intrusions. Chantilly, Va.-based CWPS is one company that provides monitoring, and there are other good, large national providers, Huber said. And before moving to the cloud firms need a plan for how to recover, and who will help them recover, and keep operating if they lose data or service, Huber said. Before moving much work of the general practice law firm Adelberg, Rudow, Dorf & Hendler to the cloud "we did what I consider a great amount of due diligence," said Wendy Thompson, who directs information technology for the practice. The practice kept its accounting, time-keeping and some client matters on its office server, but in May moved document management to NetDocuments. Thompson said its document management software features an interface that looks the same wherever it is used and a password-protected secure client portal. Before entering an agreement with any provider, law firms need to go over their contract thoroughly and make sure the service will fit their needs, such as for a litigation hold to avoid purging data. "Don't just take what they send you," Thompson said. "Everybody changes contracts," Thompson said, adding that her firm had companies sign separate confidentiality agreements. Further, Thompson said, firms should make sure that their cloud providers' servers are in the United States, making them subject to U.S. law. Beware of free programs, although some are useful, the experts warn. Many free programs used to read or store information, "are worth exactly what you pay for them" Thompson said. Published: Mon, Aug 31, 2015