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21 January 2021 / Frank Maher
Issue: 7917 / Categories: Opinion , Risk management , Cyber , Profession
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Risk & compliance: A sting in the tail?

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Risk & compliance: Frank Maher provides expert analysis on the challenges ahead

Law firms face an abundance of challenges maintaining financial stability and client service in a virus-ridden world—not just coronavirus, but the electronic sort too. There are also many detailed Brexit-related changes affecting even domestic firms. Here are a few areas to address.

Cyber—with a sting in the tail

A cyber incident may cause reputational damage which imperils a law firm’s existence. This is not just an issue for large firms—hackers released personal injury client documents held by a US law firm.

According to the SRA Risk Outlook 2020/2021, in the first half of 2020 law firms reported losses of nearly £2.5m, and that there was a 337% rise in phishing scams in the first two months of the first national lockdown. The SRA published a thematic review in September 2020.

At present, client money—but not the firm’s own—is broadly protected against cyber risks due to the extensive cover afforded under the SRA Minimum

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