The rise of the smartphone has given everyone a powerful mini-computer in their pocket. That means communications that were once confined to the office are now with us wherever we go: at home, restaurants, the airport, and unfortunately, even on vacation.

Between email and text messages, our phones potentially contain every piece of communication we have with clients outside of face-to-face conversations. The possibility of a confidentiality breach brings up new security concerns. Texts and emails need to be kept from prying eyes that could have a negative impact, particularly for sensitive client communications.

There are ways for attorneys to encrypt both of these types of mobile communications. Some are easily accomplished with tools that most businesses have readily available, while others may require the download of third party apps or the assistance of a company versed in online and mobile security. Which method you choose will depend on your type of practice and the level of sensitivity of your client communications.

Email

Use Adobe Acrobat

When it comes to email, it’s imperative to encrypt any communication with clients. This is good practice not only because the ubiquity of our mobile devices, but also because of the possibility that email accounts will be hacked or otherwise compromised remotely.

The most common way to encrypt an email is to copy and paste the content of the email, letter or document into Adobe Acrobat Pro and save it with password encryption. In more advanced orientations, it’s possible to automate the copy and paste process so that your email server can perform this operation. Adobe’s latest Acrobat version has the ability to apply 256-bit encryption. This is one of the best ways to encrypt basic communication with clients using tools that the firm probably already has on hand, and which the client can download for free (Adobe Reader, a free download, is all that’s required to view the encrypted documents).

For more detailed instructions on using Adobe Acrobat to encrypt documents, click here.

Implement Key-Based Encryption

For a more advanced security to protect your email, use key-based encryption, this generates unique mathematically-linked keys for the sender and the recipient to decipher the sent document. At any point, you can revoke the other party’s ability to view an encrypted document, making it a more secure choice. Users also don’t have to enter a password every time they want to enter a shared folder on the network.

Key-based encryption provides additional security above and beyond password-based systems. Firms should upgrade to key-based encryption when dealing with more sensitive matters. It’s highly secure and provides an extra layer of centralized security. Legal Workspace, a pioneer in cloud services for law firms, works with firms to implement these types of solutions.

Texting

Safeguard Text Communications

Clients and attorneys alike increasingly use texts to communicate more efficiently. Texting is particularly useful when clients are at work but the attorney needs a quick answer – or simply because the client is more comfortable texting rather than talking on the phone or sending/receiving email. As our devices become more capable, there are fewer functions that cannot be accomplished via text message.

Therefore, it’s important to know how to secure these messages as well. There are several third-party applications that you can download to keep text messages encrypted while in transit as well as at rest on the device.

These apps require you to enter a password to access the encrypted data each time you view it. Therefore, there’s little chance that someone other than you can see what has been communicated through texts.

Utilizing these apps provides peace of mind knowing your communications remain confidential if your phone is ever lost or stolen.

Here’s a list of some of the more functional and popular third party apps for securing your texts:

• Babel
• TextSecure
• Gliph
• CoverMe

When deciding on the best app for your firm, consider your type of mobile device and the level of security required to provide the appropriate confidentiality.

If you worry a bit each time you press send, it may be time to take a look at the security of your client communications. Legal Workspace can help your firm address the security concerns surrounding your mobile communication platforms. It’s what we do every day, and we know how to leverage technology for different practice areas and law firm needs. Contact us to find the right solution for keeping your smartphone communications smart.

Lumen Legal features the benefits of using the cloud in the post below with insight from our founder and CEO Joe Kelly.

The benefits of law firms using the cloud—including increased mobility, access, and functionality—often stand in contrast to fears surrounding security and ethics. However, increasing acceptance of the new technology seems to indicate that cloud-based solutions will soon become commonplace for law firms.

Why worry?

The ABA says on its website that “…the [ethics/security] issue extends beyond just confidentiality: attorneys [considering a cloud-based solution] must be sure that the files will be secure from destruction or degradation…and they must be able to retrieve the data in a form that’s usable outside of the vendor’s product.”

Jonathan I. Ezor, in his January article in Law Practice Today, worries that “an attorney has no easy way to independently verify” software company claims of “security and confidentiality” and has misgivings that “relying on cloud storage as the primary location for client files may put the attorney at risk of breaching record retention requirements” should something go wrong with the business hosting the data.

Despite those types of concerns, research shows that law firms are moving toward embracing the technology. Erin E. Harrison in Inside Counsel cites a recent LexisNexis study, which reveals that “about 40 percent of practicing attorneys in independent U.S. law firms are already using cloud-based tools.”

Is the cloud actually safer?

Joe Kelly, CEO of Legal Workspace, a “cloud-based work environment designed specifically for law firms,” says a cloud solution can actually be safer than the way law firms store their data on-site. In comparison to most law firms’ technology set-ups, “We have enterprise-grade firewalls. Our data centers are ultra-secure with multiple barriers to pass to get physical access to servers. And, all of our clients’ data is encrypted while in transit and at rest.” Legal Workspace is also backed by “a larger IT company and more than 30 engineers.”

The ABA website backs up Kelly’s point: “a legitimate argument can be made that files stored on the vendor’s servers are more secure than those located on a typical attorney’s PC, as the vendors often employ elaborate security measures and multiple redundant backups in their data centers.”

Solo and small firms adopting first

Solo and small law firms seem to be most eager to embrace the trend. According to the ABA’s 2013 Legal Technology Survey, 40 percent of solo firms are already using the cloud; 36 percent of firms with 2-9 attorneys are using it, too.

Why might small firms be especially eager to accept the new technology? According to Ellen Freedman, author of “Moving to the Cloud,” issues such as tight finances but “necessary infrastructure upgrades” and “a need to provide remote access on a secure basis” have pushed smaller firms toward the cloud, whereas “[l]arge firms definitely have the advantage in remote access options without having to move to the cloud.”

Kelly says that’s in line with Legal Workspace’s experience: Most of the firms that adopt their system are in the 2-40 employee range. “We can eliminate a lot of headaches for smaller firms. They don’t need to have a local IT guy or manage IT; they gain mobility because they can work anywhere from any device, and they save money because they don’t need to buy all the servers and software,” he says.

And, he emphasizes that because the employees at Legal Workspace have prior legal expertise, they understand workflow and the applications for different types of legal practices.  From the beginning, they have been able to quickly deliver to firms a “clean solution that’s easy right out of the gate. Most conversions can happen over a weekend.”

What does the future hold?

“Firms that have multiple applications they need to integrate (which can be as basic as integrating practice management with their accounting system) or firms that have documents they need to collaborate on—it makes sense to go with a cloud-based solution,” Kelly says.

Ethics opinions continue to emerge permitting cloud computing as long as reasonable care is taken, and LexisNexis results show that 72 percent of those surveyed are “more likely…to consider a cloud service in 2014.” As law firms learn more about cloud-based solutions, it seems they are finding that the benefits outweigh the fears.