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23 April 2021
Issue: 7929 / Categories: Legal News , Cyber , Technology , Legal services
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Cyber Essentials: key steps for safeguarding your firm

With more than £4m of client money falling prey to cyberattacks in 2020, can law firms afford not to take all steps necessary to protect themselves?

Law firms often present an easy target for cybercriminals, due to the vast amount of money handled and the lack of in-house security expertise. Attacks can have a devastating impact—not only on the firm’s balance sheet, but also on its reputation and client relationships.

So what can firms do to defend against cyber risks? Cyber Essentials is a government-backed certification scheme, covering the key actions a business should take to safeguard its digital security. The scheme assesses the five key criteria which, when properly addressed, can protect a business from up to 98.5% of common cyber threats.

Cyber Essentials certification is a simple, quick and cost-effective way to protect your business: find out more at cybersmart.co.uk.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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