Privacy, security & regulatory concerns: Rapidly changing technology footprint in law firms

Introduction

Mid-March 2020 is when many of us in the legal industry were told to pack up what we needed and start working from home. This included not just attorneys and administrative staff of law firms, but also judges, clerks, bailiffs and others who work in the legal eco-system. Some were more prepared than others for this sudden change. The preparation, as well as our firms’ responses to it, impact the risk environment in which we are all working, This paper outlines the privacy, security and regulatory concerns associated with COVID-19, including new threats, vulnerabilities, technology challenges and information governance complexities. We review several of the risks facing courts and law firms and provide recommendations to help address them. We take a deeper dive into contact tracing and provide a checklist of considerations for lawyers to apply when representing clients participating in contact tracing, as well as for law firms considering use of contact tracing apps in their return to office plans.

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