Solicitors hold confidential client information and move client money every day, which makes law firms a favourite target for fraudsters. We help North East firms keep both safe, and keep fee earners working without IT getting in the way.
Criminals hack or spoof email accounts and send altered bank details, often around completion. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has repeatedly warned that conveyancing funds are a common target.
Matter files, identity documents and correspondence must only be seen by the right people, on and off site, and must be protected if a laptop or phone goes missing.
When the practice management system, document store or email goes down, fee earners cannot work and deadlines are at risk.
Professional indemnity insurers, lenders and corporate clients increasingly ask what security controls you have in place.
Fee earners working from home or court need secure access to files and systems without shortcuts like personal email or USB sticks.
Law firms combine three things criminals want: confidential information, large sums of client money moving by bank transfer, and busy people working to deadlines. Conveyancing is the clearest example. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned for years that email modification fraud, where criminals intercept or imitate emails and change the bank details for a payment, often targets conveyancing funds. It is sometimes called Friday afternoon fraud because so many completions happen at the end of the week.
The fraud rarely involves clever hacking of the firm's systems. More often it starts with a phishing email that steals a password, or a lookalike email address that is one letter different from the real one. That means the defences are a mix of technology and process, and both matter.
Solicitors must keep client information confidential and protect client money, and every firm handling personal data has obligations under UK GDPR. The SRA's risk outlook has repeatedly highlighted cybercrime as a key risk for the profession. The Law Society publishes cyber security guidance for solicitors, which recommends steps such as appointing a cyber security lead, training staff and working towards the government backed Cyber Essentials scheme.
Firms that hold, or are working towards, Lexcel, the Law Society's practice management standard, will also know that it includes requirements for information management and security. We do not give legal or regulatory advice, but we can put in place and document the technical controls that sit behind your policies, and work alongside your compliance officer.
Email is where most fraud starts, so it is where we start. We set up email security that filters phishing and impersonation attempts, flags messages from outside the firm and warns about lookalike domains. We make sure multi factor authentication is on for every account, so a stolen password alone is not enough, and we configure your domain's email authentication records so criminals find it harder to send emails pretending to be you. Where you need to send sensitive documents, we set up encrypted email that is simple for clients to open.
No technology replaces a good process. We encourage firms to confirm bank details by phone using a number they already hold, never one from the email, and to tell clients at the start of a matter that the firm will never change its bank details by email. We can help you build those checks into training and onboarding.
Every managed laptop and desktop gets endpoint protection, encryption and regular updates. Phones and tablets that access firm email can be managed so data can be wiped if a device is lost. In Microsoft 365 we set sensible permissions so matter files are only visible to the people who need them.
Whether your case management and document systems are in the cloud or on a server in the office, we monitor them, keep them updated and work with your software supplier when something goes wrong. Backups of email, documents and servers are checked and tested, so you know files can be recovered after a mistake, a failure or a ransomware attack.
Partners, fee earners and support staff all receive emails that look genuine. Short, regular security awareness training and simulated phishing tests help everyone recognise the warning signs and report them rather than click.
Cyber Essentials is a government backed scheme that checks five basic controls: firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection and security updates. It is recommended in Law Society guidance and gives clients and insurers a recognised sign that the basics are covered. We help firms get ready by fixing the gaps and helping with the questionnaire; certification itself is carried out by an independent certification body.
We are a family run IT company based in Sunderland, supporting firms of around 5 to 100 staff across Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Teesside. We work with solicitors and other professional firms, and we understand that a fee earner who cannot access a file is losing time that cannot be billed. You get a small, local team who know your systems, plain English advice and one fixed monthly cost. Start with a free IT review and we will show you where your firm stands.
No IT company can promise that, and you should be wary of any that does. What we can do is greatly reduce the risk with email security, multi factor authentication, domain protection and staff training, and help you build simple verification checks into your payment process.
Yes. We support the computers, servers, network and Microsoft 365 that your practice management system runs on, and we work directly with your software supplier when there is a problem so you do not have to sit in the middle.
It is not a legal requirement for most firms, but the Law Society recommends it, many insurers and clients look for it, and it covers the controls that stop most common attacks. We can help you prepare for it.
Yes. We can explain each technical question, tell you honestly where you stand and help fix any gaps so you can answer accurately.
Yes. We set up managed laptops, Microsoft 365 and secure access to your systems so staff can work from home or court with the same protections as in the office.
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Book a free, no obligation IT review. We will look at your setup, tell you honestly what needs attention and give you a clear fixed monthly price.
