Essential Tips for Mid-Size Law Firms Comparing I.T. Support Providers

Your firm holds privileged files, trust account records, and deal documents. The I.T. provider you choose will have access to all of it. These eight checks will show you who is ready to work with a law firm.

1. Ask how they protect client confidentiality.

ABA Model Rule 1.6(c) requires lawyers to make reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access to client information. Ask the provider to list their controls in writing: multi-factor authentication, encryption on laptops and phones, email filtering, and regular reviews of who can open which folders.

2. Ask what legal software they support.

Document management, practice management, billing, and e-discovery tools all have their own quirks. A provider who has supported them before will fix problems faster than one who is learning on your time.

3. Get response times in writing.

Ask what happens when an attorney cannot open a file the morning of a hearing. Find out who answers the phone, a person or a queue, and how fast.

4. Ask about deadline coverage.

Filing dates and trial dates do not move. Ask what support looks like after hours and during a crunch.

5. Compare what is included and what is quoted separately.

Most monthly plans cover support, monitoring, and security. Projects such as an office move or a server migration usually cost extra. Ask for the split in writing so two proposals compare on the same terms. At CIO Landing, projects are quoted separately, and we say so up front.

6. Ask about onboarding.

Find out the cost, the timeline, and who does the work. Our onboarding fee is one month of service.

7. Ask when they last tested a restore.

Backups only count if they restore. Ask when the provider last restored a full file server or cloud workspace, and how long it took.

8. Ask about the exit.

Before you sign, find out who owns the passwords, documentation, and licenses. A good provider hands them over without a fight if you leave.

A simple way to compare

Score each provider from 1 to 5 on these eight points. Add a ninth: talk to a reference at a firm your size.

CIO Landing has supported businesses since 2012, and we serve clients within a two-hour drive of Northfield, Illinois. If you want a second opinion on a proposal you already have, call (312) 858-8886 and we will go through it with you.

See how we support firms like yours on our law firms page, or read how much managed IT costs for a law firm. Before you compare providers, it also helps to know whether yours has been acquired recently. See our MSP acquisitions tracker.