Cyber Trends in Law and What You Need to Know

What’s dictating these new cyber trends in law.

Cyber trends in law are in a constant state of flux, which is why it’s so important to stay up-to-date on them. So what’s affecting the current of cyber-politics now? There’s a few cyber trends in law that are starting to gain traction, but ZBRELLA has highlighted the top three trends dominating the industry.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity, among all of the hottest cyber trends in law right now, is probably the driving force of trends. It’s also the backbone of what is influencing other cyber trends to emerge, making it a very important check on this list. The legal industry reported in 2016 that out of the 100 biggest law firms, 80 of those firms experienced a hack, starting in 2011.

Non-legal related companies of massive standing, like Yahoo and McDonald’s, suffered compromising cybersecurity hacks. Yahoo lost the data of over one billion users. McDonald’s had their Twitter account publicly hacked. Cyber breaches of all sizes are happening to all sorts of industries, and legal is no exception.

For these reasons, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity sits at the top of our cyber trends in law list. The legal industry and proper cybersecurity need to converge. The other option unwilling firms are facing are expensive penalties, class-action lawsuits, reputational compromise and the potential for huge financial loss. So much of how law operates depends on customer loyalty. And if your firm’s weakest link is cybersecurity, you will lose that trust right away. Investing the time and money into proper cybersecurity and training will be a big payoff for legal firms in the future.

Legal Technology

Chicago-based legal firm, Johnson & Bell, are in the middle of a very public class-action lawsuit. The charges? Using a ten year old time-entry system that is putting sensitive client information at risk. Their virtual private network (VPN) is also being accused of vulnerabilities that put them at a higher risk for hacker’s to steal even more client information from. What does such drastic measures translate to? The type of legal technology law firms use matters.

Research has found that firms who invest in legal tech increase their efficiency and are much more likely to achieve “stronger financial results.” Legal technology has also been linked to higher client-retention rates and improved public image overall. Purchasing and operating up-to-date legal tech is one of the most important cyber trends in law that firms can start implementing today.

The Cloud

Cloud technology always seems to be a buzzword when discussing cyber trends in law. And that’s for good reason. From using Cloud for billing to time tracking to document storage and more, Cloud has been the moderately popular emerging tech legal professionals use sparingly. However, as the tech begins to move into 2nd generation solutions that offer multiple integrated functions, the Cloud as a cyber trend in law will really start to take form.

Cloud has so far provided firms with lower setup cost solutions, ongoing support, continual software updates, and easy accessibility. And those who don’t acclimate to these emerging trends will most likely be left behind. With so many solutions, such as hybrid-Cloud solutions that allow firms to partially move to the Cloud, it will continue to grow as a cyber tech trend in law to be reckoned with. And we can expect to see lots more of the Cloud in the future.

Interested in improving your firm’s cybersecurity? Want to move to the Cloud but don’t know how? zbrella Technology Consulting specializes in hand-tailored legal technology solutions that are a best-fit for your business and can help start the conversation around your legal tech today. Give us a call at 718.355.9155.