Cloud Computing as Law Practitioners’ Helper

There is no question that the law profession is considered as one of the few remaining conservative industries.  As such, it is not readily receptive to change, especially when it comes to technological innovations.  However, why should small- and mid-sized law firms use public cloud computing?

The Benefits

If we are to use the results of a survey done in 2014, it revealed that as much as 70% of lawyers that responded believed that their law firms can benefit from moving to cloud computing.  This is quite possible based on the perceived benefits that the technology can provide in terms of information and file managements among others.

Cloud computing helps to increase law firm’s ability to practice law on the go.  This is through the availability of documents from cloud servers that can be accessed and analyzed from virtually anywhere that an internet connection is available.

Small- and medium-sized law firms will also have the ability to leverage data security.  It is common knowledge that protection of client information is of the utmost priority for law firms and the data security delivered by cloud providers do just that.  The bonus is that the increased security comes at a lesser price through cloud-based solutions.

The files of law firms are its treasure, which is why it must be protected.  Unfortunately, using traditional methods, these paper documents are prone to being destroyed by fire as well as by natural and man-made calamities.  Using public cloud computing solutions, the destruction of the files become harder as they can be protected by disaster preparedness and recovery protocols implemented by cloud providers.

Scalability is a great benefit that all law firms can benefit from because they will only be paying for the actual space they use on the server.  This means that they have the flexibility to expand their needs as the law firm’s client list begins to grow.

Challenges of Implementation

It would be wrong to assume that because of technological advancements there would be no challenges to the implementation of cloud computing in law firms.  This is especially true considering that there are specific and stringent rules that cover confidentiality between lawyers and their clients.  The lack of a clear-cut ruling on the security protocols used by cloud providers is in itself a challenge.

Many of the state bar associations simply rely on the term “reasonable care” when discussing the confidentiality and data security applied by lawyers using cloud-based solutions.  However, these challenges when put in the proper perspective can be overruled as in the case of lawyers keeping abreast with technological changes to safeguard the information of their clients.

The use of encryption technology is one of the best ways to maintain security and confidentiality of client information so it must be used properly.  The important thing to emphasize when using cloud solutions and its challenges is that lawyers should be able to retain ownership of the information including its full return from the cloud provider.

If these conditions are met, then the challenges in implementing cloud-based solutions should be diminished greatly.  Another thing that must be assured to overcome these challenges is that cloud providers must be able to assure reasonable up time of the service along with its security measures not only during transmission, but also at rest.  The proper breach-related notifications must also be put in place.

Law Firm Policies

To ensure consistency and effective implementation of cloud-based solutions, it should be done consistent with the policies and training protocols of the firm.  Regarding the firm’s assets to a public cloud computing server presents too much benefits to simply turn a blind eye.

One of the most important aspects of the decision making process to move to public cloud computing is to find a reputable cloud provider as well as the right management technology to cover the legal and ethical concerns of the law profession.

This is where the NexStep management-free technology for lawyers of Keyed Communications LLC can be most useful.  Call them today to find out how it can help in moving your law firm’s assets to a public cloud computing server.

Contact NexStep to get the perfect cloud based law practice management technology to help and assist you in your law practice.