Tabush Group's Cloud & Managed IT Blog

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to transform every industry, and law is no exception. Small and midsize law firms are increasingly leveraging AI technologies to boost productivity, save time, improve client service, and make their operations more secure. Currently, the hottest AI topic among law firms is generative AI, a type of AI tool – such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT – used to produce various types of content. According to a 2023 Wolters Kluwer survey, 73% of lawyers expect to integrate generative AI into their legal work in the next 12 months – up from 15% who use it now. Below are some meaningful ways that AI is impacting or will soon impact small and midsize firms.

As a law firm, you need your IT to be reliable, secure, and properly designed to support your business goals. For most law firms, it is cost-prohibitive to have all the competencies you need to design, manage, and support a modern IT system in-house. Many firms partner with an outside managed service provider (MSP) for some or all of their IT needs. Here are seven essential questions to ask when interviewing MSPs.

The transition to hybrid workplaces prompted law firms to embrace the cloud for the mobility and accessibility it provides. But as they contemplate a full transition to cloud-based technologies, some law firms are stubbornly clinging to the perception that the cloud is not as secure as on-premise solutions. This perception could not be further from the truth. In fact, the cloud provides superior cybersecurity.

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, law firms must continually adapt and improve their technology to stay competitive. With the right practices in place, firms can reduce IT costs, enhance productivity, minimize potential problems, and deliver an exceptional end-user experience. Below we highlight six effective strategies that can help your firm achieve your IT goals.

A security operations center (SOC) is a team of IT security experts whose sole focus is to proactively monitor your firm’s security, detect and analyze threats, and respond and remediate when necessary. To be effective, the team of highly-qualified experts must work 24x7x365 so that they can rapidly respond to any emerging threat. For the vast majority of small and midsize firms, it simply does not make financial sense to build this function in-house, yet with cyberattacks increasing in sophistication and volume, it is far too risky to ignore the need for a SOC. Many small and midsize firms choose to partner with a third-party IT security provider that offers Security Operations Center as a Service (SOCaaS) to ensure constant, proactive protection against cybersecurity threats.

New York City is a highly competitive place to do business. In fact, a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked New York the most competitive city on the planet. To succeed here, your law firm can’t afford to have its IT system go down due to faulty equipment, and you certainly can’t accept the security risks and lost productivity that inefficient, insecure IT breeds. Your law firm needs to focus its time and energy on your core business to stay ahead of your competitors. Partnering with a New York City-based managed IT service provider (MSP) can help you with all these realities and more.

As many firms continue to embrace a hybrid work environment, others are still on the fence. While fully remote and always in-office both have their advantages, a hybrid work environment combines the best of both arrangements. As firms seek to compete for top talent, improve work-life balance, and enhance their productivity, the advantages of a hybrid work model are becoming increasingly clear. Here are a few unexpected benefits of a hybrid work environment.

For law firms, cybersecurity should always be at the forefront of your IT. Data breaches are costly to your operations, your reputation, and to your clients. One of the most important aspects of cybersecurity is a strong password and multi-factor authentication (MFA) policy. Here are some of the most effective practices for implementing a strong password and MFA policy for your firm.

Reliable, efficient, and secure technology is necessary for law firms to provide their clients with excellent service. But it is not necessary – or even advisable – for small and midsized law firms to manage their IT themselves. Unlike their larger counterparts, small and midsized law firms simply do not have the resources to properly build, optimize, support, and defend an enterprise-level IT system.

By partnering with a good managed IT service provider (MSP), you gain the expertise and capability of an entire in-house IT department, which frees your firm up to focus on what you do best: providing your clients with trusted legal counsel and representation.