INTERNATIONAL POLICY DIGEST

Law firms are embracing technology and one such innovation are virtual data rooms.

Virtual data rooms have gained a lot of popularity in recent years as businesses have realized the need for safe and secure avenues to transmit their data among employees and stakeholders. Virtual data rooms essentially allow managers and business owners to not only safely stow away all business data, but also create structures within structures to share relevant data with personnel in a limited capacity. That is to say, an employee working in the marketing department would be able to view all data that should be privy to him, and an external auditor would have access to all files within the finance department and no more.

In addition to all sorts of businesses, law firms are also starting to warm up to the idea of using virtual data rooms. Below are three reasons why law firms need to adopt the use of virtual data rooms.

1. To ensure confidentiality. Law firms are privy to some of the most confidential data of their clients, and it is hence their legal and ethical responsibility to keep all this data private. Virtual data rooms incorporate the highest possible security measures, and hence law firms can keep their current and previous case files secure using online repositories such as Firmex. In addition to safely storing past case files for future reference, virtual data rooms also allow attorneys to store case files that are being worked on and provide access to all relevant parties. This would also ensure that all files that are part of a particular case stay together in one place.

2. To ensure convenience. In addition to the obvious safety and security aspects, virtual data rooms also represent convenience. Long gone are the days when employees would have to visit their desks to look up a relevant document for something they are working on. If employees had an idea or a discovery in the middle of the night, they’d have to wait till the next morning’s office run to jot that down on their case file or wait restlessly to refer. However, since virtual data rooms allow lawyers and law firms to maintain all case files online, attorneys can review documents anytime they want from the comfort of their homes. Not only does this mean increased productivity, but it also signifies time and cost savings.

3. To ensure accountability. In addition to safety from the outside environment, law firms also need to ensure safety within their workspaces. That is to say, law firms need to ensure that no sort of tampering occurs within their offices concerning client data, and virtual data rooms help them ensure just that. Virtual data rooms can help managers ensure accountability by allowing them to track all sorts of transactions within the data room. This includes being able to see which employee accessed which file at which hour. It also allows them to see any edits or modifications that were made to the said files. If any such transaction is initiated by an employee and requires approval from anyone from the top management, managers would be able to view and accept or reject any such request as well.