IT Support for Law FirmsIT support for law firms where confidentiality is not optional.
A law firm's IT has one job above all others: keep client matters confidential and available. We run the IT for firms of 5 to 150 people: Microsoft 365 configured so that privilege actually means something, case and practice management systems kept patched and backed up, and the evidence the SRA, Lexcel and your insurer ask for, produced rather than promised.
Who this is for
High-street and regional firms, specialist practices and sole practitioners with staff, on case management such as Clio, LEAP, Proclaim, Actionstep, Osprey, SOS or Tikit, with fee earners working from court, home and the office, and nobody whose job is IT. Usually 5 to 150 people.
What the SRA expects of a firm's IT
The SRA Code of Conduct for Firms requires effective systems to keep client money and information safe, and the SRA has been clear in its cybercrime guidance that email account compromise, invoice redirection fraud and ransomware are the risks it sees most. Firms are expected to have multi-factor authentication, patched systems, staff training and backups, and to be able to demonstrate them, particularly after an incident.
Lexcel adds the practice management standard most firms work to, with explicit requirements around information management and business continuity. And every PI renewal now carries a cyber section that asks the same questions. None of these require enterprise tooling for a 20-person firm; they require the Microsoft 365 licence the firm already has to be configured properly, and someone responsible for keeping it that way.
Source: SRA Code of Conduct for Firms, Cybercrime guidance (SRA), Lexcel (The Law Society)
Friday afternoon fraud, and how it is actually stopped
Conveyancing fraud works by reading a mailbox. A criminal gets into a fee earner's or a client's email, watches the matter progress, and sends altered bank details at exchange. The control is not a warning in the signature. It is multi-factor authentication enforced for every account, Conditional Access that blocks sign-ins from devices the firm does not manage, Defender for Office 365 tuned for impersonation of partners and clients, and mailbox forwarding rules alerted on and blocked.
All of that is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. We switch it on, test it, and monitor it, so the mailbox cannot be quietly read for three weeks before completion.
Case management, documents and the server in the cupboard
We support firms on Clio, LEAP, Proclaim, Actionstep, Osprey, SOS, Tikit and Peppermint, in the cloud and on premises. Where a server still runs the practice or document management system, we keep it patched, backed up with tested restores, and off the internet except through the vendor's supported route. Where it does not need to, we plan the migration so the firm's documents land in SharePoint with the right matter structure and permissions rather than a flat copy of the old drive.
Document retention is where firms get caught. Retention policies and litigation hold in Microsoft 365 give the firm a defensible record for the periods its matters require, and sensitivity labels keep privileged material from leaving the firm by accident. We set these to the firm's own retention schedule, not Microsoft's defaults.
Fee earners who are never at their desk
Court, client sites, home and the train are where legal work happens now. Every laptop and phone is enrolled in Intune, encrypted and wipeable, so a bag left in a taxi is a remote wipe rather than a breach report to the ICO and the SRA. Teams Phone replaces the desk phone with a number that follows the fee earner, with call recording where the firm needs it.
Source: Small Business Guide (NCSC)
What is included
Helpdesk and monitoring
Unlimited support answered by an engineer, every device monitored and patched, with changes scheduled around court dates and completions.
Microsoft 365 configured for privilege
Business Premium with MFA for everyone, Conditional Access, Defender for Office 365 tuned for impersonation and payment fraud, mailbox rules monitored, sensitivity labels, retention and litigation hold to the firm's own schedule.
Device management
Every laptop and phone enrolled in Intune, encrypted, compliant and wipeable, for fee earners wherever they work.
Case and practice management
Clio, LEAP, Proclaim, Actionstep, Osprey, SOS, Tikit and Peppermint kept patched and integrated; any remaining server maintained, backed up and eventually retired.
Backup, tested
Microsoft 365, server and document data backed up outside the vendor, kept in the UK, restores tested every quarter with the result shown to you.
Evidence
Cyber Essentials certification, and documentation written to answer the SRA, a Lexcel assessor or a PI insurer's cyber questionnaire without a scramble.
Joiners and leavers
New starters set up before day one, leavers closed down the same day with mailbox and matter access handled properly, with a record of both.
What is not included, and why
- The case management licences themselves. You buy those from the vendor; we make sure they work and are protected.
- Legal advice on your regulatory obligations. We produce the technical controls and the evidence; your COLP and COFA own the compliance.
- Teams Phone and connectivity are separate services, priced on the Teams Phone and broadband pages.
What it costs
Managed IT support for law firms is from £35 per user per month, with security monitoring, device management and Microsoft 365 backup included. Microsoft 365 Business Premium licences are £16.90 per user per month at Microsoft's UK price. Onboarding, any server or migration work and Cyber Essentials certification are quoted as fixed projects after a discovery call.
How it starts
- 1Free IT Health CheckA short online check that benchmarks your security and business risk and tells you where you stand.
- 2Discovery callAn engineer, not a salesperson. What you have, what is broken, what it would cost to fix, in writing.
- 3OnboardingEverything moves across on a plan, with no gap in cover and nothing lost.
Questions people ask before signing
Can you prove to the SRA or our insurer that our controls are in place?
Yes. We keep the evidence as part of running the service: MFA enforcement reports, device compliance, patch status, backup restore tests and the Cyber Essentials certificate. An SRA enquiry, a Lexcel assessment or a PI renewal questionnaire becomes a document request, not a project.
Do you support our case management system?
We support firms on Clio, LEAP, Proclaim, Actionstep, Osprey, SOS, Tikit and Peppermint, cloud and on premises. We are not the vendor's helpdesk and will not pretend to be, but we know how those systems are installed, backed up, integrated and broken, and we work with the vendor on the rest.
How do you stop conveyancing fraud?
By making the mailbox unreadable to anyone but its owner: MFA enforced for every account, Conditional Access blocking unmanaged devices, impersonation protection tuned for your partners and clients, and alerts on forwarding rules. Staff training on top. A signature warning on its own has never stopped a payment going to the wrong account.
We still have a server. Do we have to move to the cloud?
Not immediately. We keep it patched, backed up and properly isolated while it is needed. Most firms move when the practice system has a supported cloud version and a quiet month, and we plan that rather than forcing it.
Our fee earners are in court half the week. How does support work?
Remotely, and it works the same wherever they are. Laptops are managed through Intune, Teams Phone follows them, and a replacement device can be shipped and signed in from the box. On-site time is for the office: network, printers, meeting rooms and the people in it.
What does the document retention set-up involve?
You tell us the firm's retention schedule by matter type; we set Microsoft 365 retention policies and litigation hold to match, label privileged material so it cannot leave by accident, and document the configuration. It is a short project done once, then kept current.
How much does IT support cost for a law firm?
From £35 per user per month with security and backup included, plus Microsoft 365 licences at Microsoft's price. A fifteen-person firm on Business Premium is therefore around £780 a month before project work, and we quote exact figures after a discovery call.