Your law firm relies on technology for everything: storing, accessing, and protecting case files and legal documents; time tracking and billing; corresponding with existing clients; marketing to prospective ones; complying with industry regulations; and communicating with your own staff. So, when your technology goes down, so does your law firm. Hard.
When your operations are disrupted—be it from a nefarious hacker, a flood or fire, an unintentional internal error—it can result in increased security risks, frustrated clients, irreparable reputational damage, stressful working conditions, and significant lost revenue.
In this post, we highlight the financial and hidden costs of IT downtime, explain the most common causes of it, and, most importantly, we share five measures you can take to prevent or minimize downtime at your firm.
The Known and Hidden Costs of Downtime
When we talk about IT downtime, we typically assign a monetary value. As in, how much money does your firm lose every minute or every hour that you’re down? These values can range from hundreds of dollars a minute to nearly $9,000 per minute of downtime! The actual financial cost in lost billable hours will depend on your size, business model, and standard revenue, but the consistent fact for all firms is that every minute of downtime costs you in some way. Other hidden costs may include:
Client dissatisfaction: Downtime can cause you to miss critical client deadlines which can lead to legal penalties, fines, or even case dismissals. When a communication breakdown happens, you not only damage your relationship with existing clients, but you can lose prospective clients and damage your reputation in your region and industry.
Security risks: When your technology is down, so too is your security perimeter. Unresolved technology downtime can lead to data breaches or compliance violations which can result in further lost revenue and fines.
Employee productivity loss: Downtime is a stressful time for your entire team. Your staff will struggle with inefficient systems which can impact not just employee morale but also your case management.
Regulatory fines: Law firms face pressure to adhere to legal data protection regulations like GDPR and ABA guidelines. If you experience downtime, you face the risk of high fines as well as reputational damage due to non-compliance.
Common Causes of Downtime in Law Firms
As we mentioned above, downtime can be the result of a natural disaster, like a flood or fire—but more often, technology itself is the root cause. Something as simple as not updating or patching your software, or using programs that are unsupported, can cause your overall system to crash. Your own team can unintentionally trigger downtime by practicing bad behaviors, like setting poor passwords or using unsecure devices and questionable network connections when working on cases.
And then, of course, there’s the current threat landscape: Law firms of all sizes are a prized target for attackers, from damaging ransomware attacks to incredibly convincing phishing attempts. You deal with large amounts of sensitive client data, proprietary information, and financial details—all of which is a treasure trove for hackers. On top of this, many firms lack the resources and expertise necessary to protect your technology infrastructure, and bad actors know this. You might run your firm on poor infrastructure to begin with; or, you might have a modern IT environment but lack the resources to regularly maintain it. A lack of robust, proactive IT support coupled with slow issue resolution can not only trigger downtime but also extend it.
How to Prevent or Minimize Downtime
The good news is that there are steps you can take to prevent or minimize downtime at your law firm. The key is to be prepared. Here’s the top five measures you can implement to keep your firm buzzing.
Implement proactive IT monitoring. Meaning, identify problems before they escalate. Monitoring your network can alert you to suspicious activity and provide early warning. Threats are more easily contained when they’re detected in early stages, which reduces your potential downtime, and the costs associated with recovery.
Ensure reliable cybersecurity measures. Protect your firm from cyberattacks with robust security solutions. This includes regular risk assessments and vulnerability testing to help you identify weaknesses and prioritize areas for improvement. You should also implement strong encryption and data protection practices, like establishing better password practices and securing your endpoints.
Regular software and system updates. Set a schedule to routinely check your email client, security tools, and software for any security updates and patches. This will prevent attackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities. Automating these updates is recommended to ensure continuous protection. Updating your software will also help your firm avoid compatibility and performance issues and boost your overall productivity.
Have a dedicated helpdesk. Help desk staff are experts in cybersecurity and can act as your first line of defense to detect, report, and escalate security incidents. This can help minimize downtime—or prevent it altogether. Help desks also provide continuous monitoring of your system and network, in real-time. For more, see this article on The Role of Help Desk Support in Bolstering Cybersecurity for Law Firms.
Create a disaster recovery plan. Your law firm must be prepared for anything, which is why you should think about downtime as not an “if” but a “when”. A robust incident response and disaster recovery plan can offer the critical protection you need to prevent and minimize the impact of downtime. A recovery plan will enhance your cybersecurity, protect your reputation, and safeguard your firm against legal action and fines.
Downtime is a bad time. It can lead to financial loss, client loss, and reputational loss, all of which can be hard to bounce back from, especially for smaller or start-up law firms. The key is to be prepared. We also know you’re busy. Partnering with a reliable help desk with expertise in the legal industry, like N8 Solutions, is often the most effective and affordable way to protect your revenue and your reputation. Many firms are also surprised to learn that help desks can provide ongoing cybersecurity awareness training for employees!
Please get in touch with us today to learn more about our customized, budget-friendly help desk solutions.