IT and Microsoft 365 for solicitors and small law firms

What makes law firm IT different

Confidentiality is a professional duty, not just good practice. A misdirected email or a compromised mailbox can be a regulatory matter as well as a data breach. And conveyancing makes a firm a target, because anyone watching a mailbox knows exactly when completion money is about to move.

What we set up for law firms

• Multi-factor authentication on every account, with conditional access so sign-ins are only allowed from devices the firm manages.
• Shared mailboxes for teams and departments, so each fee earner signs in as themselves and there is a record of who sent what.
• Sensitivity labels and encrypted email for documents and messages that must only be read by the intended recipient.
• Alerts for new mailbox forwarding rules, and a review of sign-in activity.
• Email backup, so there is a copy to restore from if mail is deleted.
• Extra phishing and spam filtering on incoming email.
• A leavers process that removes access on the last day and keeps the mailbox for the file.

Conveyancing and payment fraud

The pattern is well known. A criminal gets into a mailbox, at the firm or the client, waits until completion, and sends new bank details that look genuine.

The controls above make your mailboxes harder to get into. The control that matters most at the point of payment is procedural: bank details are confirmed by phone on a number already on file, and your client care letter tells clients the firm will never change bank details by email. We set up the technical side and can go through the rest with you.

Insurers, Lexcel and Cyber Essentials

Professional indemnity insurers increasingly ask about multi-factor authentication, backups and staff awareness at renewal. If you hold Lexcel or are working towards it, it expects a documented approach to information security. Cyber Essentials is a sensible baseline either way.

Our Security Health Check gives you a written picture of where you stand, which is useful to have in front of you when those questions arrive.

Which Microsoft 365 plan

Business Premium, for everyone who handles client matters. Conditional access, device management and encrypted email are all part of it. From us it is £25 per user, per month, on a 12-month term. Our Secure support plan includes Business Premium, email backup, extra phishing and spam filtering, and managed email signatures, along with a remote helpdesk during business hours, for £75 per user, per month.

What we can do for you

Common questions

What IT security does the SRA require?

The SRA requires firms to keep client affairs confidential and to have effective systems and controls, but it does not prescribe specific technology. In practice that means multi-factor authentication, controlled access to client data, a leavers process and a way to show what you have in place.

How can a law firm reduce the risk of conveyancing fraud by email?

Make mailboxes harder to get into with multi-factor authentication and conditional access, watch for new forwarding rules, and confirm any bank details by phone on a number already held. Tell clients in writing that the firm will never change bank details by email.

How much does IT for a small law firm cost?

Microsoft 365 setup is from £499 and a Security Health Check from £349, both fixed prices agreed in writing before work starts. Business Premium licences are £25 per user, per month on a 12-month term. Klariq is not VAT registered, so no VAT is added.