How to safeguard and streamline your firm’s digital assets
If your firm suddenly lost access to every digital file it relies on. How long would it take to get back to business?
That question’s not hypothetical anymore. Cybercrime is rising fast, and law firms are a growing target. You’re handling sensitive data, client communications, billing, contracts, and confidential case files, all of which are highly valuable, not just to you but to attackers as well.
Further, risk doesn’t only come from the outside. Sometimes it’s internal clutter, unclear file systems, or inconsistent access that causes the biggest mess.
In this blog, we walk through some of the practical steps to protect and manage your firm’s digital assets properly.
Catalogue all your digital assets
You can’t protect what you haven’t mapped. It sounds simple, but many companies don’t have a clear list of what digital assets they actually use or store.
Think beyond just client documents. There are your shared drives, internal templates, email accounts, financial data, passwords, logins for court systems, archived case files, and even your website admin.
Get clear on what you have, where it lives, and who has access to it. This baseline view helps you spot weak points before they become real problems. Once you’ve taken stock, move into the next step: reducing your exposure.
Stop giving all staff and contractors access to all your digital assets
One of the easiest ways to prevent internal errors and external breaches is by tightening and restricting access. You don’t need to micromanage every file, but broad, open access across the whole firm is a risk.
Access should be role-based. Junior staff shouldn’t be able to delete files they don’t work on. Admins shouldn’t have access to confidential case documents unless it’s essential. And if someone leaves the firm, their access should be shut off everywhere immediately.
If you’re not already doing this, start simple. Pick your most sensitive data areas, review who can get into them, and make changes from there.
Email is still one of the biggest cyber threats
Most digital breaches start with something small. A link in an email. A fake invoice. A reply to what looks like a client.
Phishing tactics are getting more tailored, and firms like yours are high-value targets. One wrong click can lead to a full account compromise or system access. You don’t need expensive tools to reduce the risk. You need habits and awareness.
Train your team to spot suspicious messages. Make sure no one uses a personal email for work-related matters, and always be clear on what to do if something seems off. Waiting too long to report something unusual is what turns a simple mistake into a firm-wide problem.
Strong password policies are a good start to counter cybercrime
Weak or reused passwords are still one of the most common entry points for data breaches. In legal, where systems are often connected, one breach can mean full access to the entire network.
Even if you use strong passwords, there’s no guarantee your whole team does, unless you’ve set some rules around it.
Make these five things standard across your firm…
- Use unique passwords for every login;
- Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible (which is pretty much everywhere nowadays);
- Never send passwords by email or store them in shared documents;
- Remove access when staff leave or change roles;
- Use a secure tool (e.g. Lastpass or similar) to manage logins for all firm digital assets.
This isn’t about being paranoid. It’s about covering basic ground so you’re not an easy target. Once these habits are normal, security becomes part of how your team works, not an extra step.
Backups that actually save you
It’s not enough to back up your data. You need to back it up well. That means automatic, off-site, and tested from time to time to make sure it works and it’s accessible.
A surprising number of firms think they’re covered, only to find their backups are outdated, incomplete, or stored in the same place as the original files. If something goes wrong, they’re left with nothing usable.
Your backup processes should give you confidence, not just hope. You should know exactly how long it would take to restore lost data and who’s in charge of doing it.
You should also make sure older file versions are saved, so if someone overwrites or deletes a document by accident, it’s easy to fix.
Get your files in order
Disorganised files waste time and create risk. When you can’t find the latest version of a document, or worse, you accidentally send the wrong one, it’s a sign that your filing system needs attention.
Consistency is key. That doesn’t mean you need dozens of rules. It just means everyone follows the same structure. Use clear folder naming, sort files by client or matter, and have one person/one team responsible for archiving closed work (again, using consistent rules).
This is especially important if multiple people collaborate on a case. A tidy, structured system means less back-and-forth, fewer mistakes, and smoother handovers.
Keep your digital systems running with simple but regular maintenance
Once your digital systems are in better shape, the next challenge is keeping them that way. It doesn’t need to be a massive job. A short, recurring checklist can go a long way.
- Review staff access every few months, and every time someone leaves the firm, and update as needed;
- Check that your backups are running and restorable;
- Archive old files to keep systems tidy and responsive;
- Remove unused accounts across platforms;
- Stay on top of software and app updates.
Set a calendar reminder to review these quarterly. You’ll catch issues early, and it won’t feel like a full clean-out each time.
Don’t wait until it breaks
A lot of firms don’t think much about digital organisation or security until something goes wrong. At that point, it’s usually expensive, stressful, and time-consuming to fix. If it’s really bad, some firms never recover.
But when your systems are well-organised, your backups are solid, your access to digital assets is carefully managed, and your staff know what to do, things run smoother across the board. You save time, avoid mistakes, and reduce your risk, all without adding complexity to your day-to-day work.
This isn’t about overhauling everything at once. It’s about building habits that protect your firm and make your job easier. Start with one weak point. Fix it. Then move to the next. That’s how you build a digital foundation you can actually rely on.
Contacting Social Hive
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