Small practice law firms are one of the most important institutions around the world and have provided a lot of good public services over the years. However, they are also the targets of attacks from hackers, thieves, and other criminals. Although most of these threats are external, precautions must be taken to prevent “inside jobs” as well.

Here are a few of the ways that smaller practice law firms can protect themselves, as well as their clients, to make sure that they remain open for years. By taking a few preventative measures today, solo lawyers will help protect their future.

1- Purchase Malpractice Insurance

Malpractice insurance is a vital method of protection for everyone who practices law. Like all types of insurance, one hopes they never have to use it. However, as everyone is prone to accidents or mistakes (even highly trained lawyers!), it’s an excellent method of protecting the firm’s reputation and financial security if a problem arises.

As 80% of lawyers end up getting sued during their careers (and not always with valid claims or ones worth the time to fight, of course), having malpractice insurance is a necessity.

2- Conduct a Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is another essential method for legal protection. For the sake of client confidentiality, it likely won’t be possible to have an outside firm handle the operation (unless you haven’t had any clients yet or can remove all confidential information beforehand).

The process will involve identifying any vulnerabilities the firm may have, including cybersecurity, office security, passwords, and anything else that could be stolen, opened, or compromised in any way. All confidential information should be stored securely with access limited to those who need it for business reasons. Any other arrangement is an unnecessary risk.

3- Upgrade Cybersecurity

speaking of cybersecurity, all digital information should be stored on secure servers with the highest quality security measures in place. Researchers, paralegals, and other personnel whose work requires the use of computers should have their usage monitored to make sure they’re only accessing relevant files or websites when using company computers.

Additionally, a strong firewall should be in place to prevent outside hackers from entering secured servers. These are of particular concern as they can steal unencrypted files and introduce viruses, trojan horses, or employ other methods of cyberattack. Particularly dangerous is ransomware, where the hacker puts a password lock on all files to make them inaccessible and then ransoms the password.

This can be especially dangerous for law firms, so all possible precautions should be taken to stop them in their tracks before they can begin their wave of terror.

These are three important ways that smaller practice legal firms can protect themselves in the increasingly dangerous world in which we live. If the firm, its reputation, and its resources aren’t properly protected, it can be devastating for business. Clients will ask themselves, “If they can’t protect themselves, how can they protect me?” By using these strategies, the only question they’ll ask is, “Why didn’t I contact them sooner?”.