Risk Mitigation for Law Firms – Disaster Recovery Through Software Escrow
Published on 09/10/2024
In modern legal practice, the level of reliance on software from law firms is ever-increasing. Critical software applications support legal professionals with essential daily operations, as well as the management of cases and clients. Alongside the growing prominence of software utilisation, is the risk of software failure and the significant damage that this can have. In the legal field, consequential outcomes caused by software failure include data breaches, the loss of client information, and case disruption.
Software Escrow equips organisations with the ability to access software source code during unforeseen situations where Business Continuity is at risk. Such disruptive situations may arise when a software vendor encounters issues, causing an end-user to face interrupted access to a critical application. For lawyers, critical applications may include those that are used to store client information and manage the progress of cases.
A Software Escrow agreement is a legal agreement between three parties. The three parties involved are:
- The software owner/supplier (commonly referred to as the vendor)
- The end user (this could be a business’s employees)
- A third-party escrow provider, such as SES Secure.
The world of Software Escrow can certainly be an overwhelming place. Our ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Software Escrow’ blog breakdowns the key concepts that are pivotal within Software Escrow.
Alongside the facilitation of Business Continuity, Software Escrow can play an integral role in optimising a law firm’s Risk Mitigation and Disaster Recovery capabilities. Software Escrow supports law firms with the following:
It’s well known that law firms store and manage information that is highly sensitive. If a software application that’s used to manage critical information faces disruption, a significant level of risk would arise. Reputational damage would also be potentially huge and complex issue to deal with. Software Escrow ensures that a law firm has access to an application’s source code, enabling them to access, maintain, and update the application in the face of disruption. During a disaster/crisis event, this allows a law firm to have control, convenience, and peace of mind.
With cyber-attacks and data security breaches becoming increasingly frequent, it’s evident that optimising the level of security around software is extremely beneficial, not just for law firms but also for all stakeholders that are in some way connected to a software application. Software Escrow provides law firms with an additional level of security and supports them with Business Continuity, even when software vendors have failed.
Like organisations across all industries, law firms must adhere to a range of laws and regulations. Oftentimes, the role of these regulations involves improving data protection and client confidentiality. Software Escrow is great tool that can be utilised when ensuring that a law firm is meeting regulatory requirements. The implementation of Software Escrow has the potential to make the legal industry more robust and operationally resilient.
Prior to a crisis event occurring, a law firm’s implementation of Software Escrow puts Business Continuity assurances in place in advance. This means that there is a pre-established plan of action that’s designed to support a law firm with overcoming operational challenges effectively and efficiently, without compromising on financial loss or reputational damage.
During a crisis event, a trusted Escrow provider, such as SES Secure, provide the client with access to their software application’s source code. This enables the client to mitigate risk whilst resuming the delivery of services.
Whether a law firm is seeking to mitigate risk in advance or manage a crisis event that has just occurred, our team are able to provide support and assistance.
The team at SES Secure are passionate about educating the law community on the extensive benefits of Software Escrow for business continuity and operational resilience. We are proud to have a partnership with The Society for Computers and Law, the leading educational charity for the tech law community. Our resources for legal professionals can also be found on the Lexology website.
If you have any questions or would like further information, please get in touch, or give our team a call on 0161 488 1400.