Nina Lee

When you become a lawyer, you might not think about all the legal accounting that goes into a successful firm. From handling trust accounts to capturing the revenue you earn, legal billing is essential — but it might seem like the homework your firm is putting off. Every law firm needs to get paid for its services, and billing software is one of the easiest ways to ensure that happens. 

If you’re ready to spend less time staring at the books and more time on your cases, you’re in the right place. Find out how to streamline your billing with this guide to adopting legal billing software. 

What Is Legal Billing Software?

Legal billing software can help you automate the process of tracking your hours, sending invoices, and managing all other billing tasks — with one comprehensive suite of tools. 

With legal billing software, you can:

• Set up custom invoice templates
• Track your billable time
• Automate invoice distribution
• Manage trust accounts, including balance checking and handling retainer payments
• Use financial reporting tools to assess your performance
• Enable clients to pay you online

Of course, all legal billing software comes with unique features. So before making the investment, review your options and ensure that you’re choosing the software with the necessary functionality.

Legal billing software platforms, like Bill4Time, are cloud-based, meaning that the software runs online outside of your firm’s IT infrastructure. This gives firms the ability to access their cases from any device and often comes with lower costs.

Does My Law Firm Need Legal Billing Software?  

If your firm wants to automate and streamline your billing, the answer is yes. Many large and small firms can see significant benefits from the transition to legal billing software. 

With legal billing software, you can see benefits like:

• Reduce time spent on billing. This is one of the biggest perks. With less time dedicated to tracking your hours and expenses, you can devote more time to handling cases. 
• Improved revenue capture. If you have a better, faster way to report your hours and invoice clients, you can see fewer outstanding accounts.
• Increased client happiness. When clients have an easy, convenient, and straightforward way to pay you, they have a better experience.
• Better staff experience. Your staff’s morale matters as much as your clients’ happiness. If your attorneys, paralegals, accountants, and other staff have better systems to do their jobs, they’re more likely to appreciate their work environment. 
• Greater access to financial analysis tools. Some legal billing software comes with built-in custom reporting features. That gives you the power to get quick insights into your firm’s financial performance over time and project where you’ll be in the future.  
• Enhanced compliance. No one wants to let mistakes or oversights compromise their practice. Bill4Time’s built-in payment processor, Bill4Time Payments, can help your firm stay compliant with ABA, IOLTA, and state bar guidelines.

You might think of it this way: Your firm runs certain risks if you don’t invest in tools to help you become more efficient, capture revenue, and remain compliant. After all, if you’re the average law firm, you could face many common issues with billing — and these problems could leave you in financial and ethical high water. For instance, you may be double-billing or failing to capture your actual billable hours. 

How to Adopt Legal Billing Software  

When you’re starting to consider bringing on billing software, you’ll want to think through what it means to implement new software. 

Assess Your Firms Needs

Some legal billing systems will work better for your needs than others. Be sure to review the software to ensure it offers the following:

• The features and functions you need
• Compatibility with your existing software

As mentioned previously, legal billing software can include many features. Determine what’s most important for your needs. For instance, you should ensure that the software you choose includes financial reporting tools or integrations with other legal software. With some legal billing software, you can integrate other legal software, such as case management tools, to create a seamless ecosystem for productivity. 

With that said, you’ll want to invest in billing software that syncs with your existing software. So, if you’re currently running QuickBooks for accounting, purchase software that works with those tools. 

Have Standard Processes in Place

When you’re getting ready to transition to new legal billing software, it’s worth ensuring that all your billing systems are in ship shape. Make sure that your firm: 

• Has a clear fee structure outlined
• Establishes clear legal billing guidelines
• Prepares to set up invoice templates
• Has a plan for invoice review and client follow-up for late payments

If you don’t already have clear billing guidelines, you’ll want to set that up. Your billing guidelines should include how often you bill clients, what you include in invoices, and how you communicate with clients through invoicing. 

Once you determine your billing guidelines, you can also automate many of these standard processes and procedures. Legal billing software allows you to set up when your clients receive invoices, use custom invoice templates, and more.

Prepare to Train Your Team

Of course, ensuring your staff is prepared to work with new software is crucial to your adoption process. Be ready to train any team members who will interact with the billing software. It’s critical to ensure everyone is on the same page and understands any best practices you establish for using these tools. 

Identifying the Best Legal Billing Software 

Beyond ensuring that your chosen legal billing software plays nicely with your existing software, you’ll want to consider your goals, the features you need, and which will be best for your firm.

Some of the most significant decisions that you’ll have to make when you choose the best software for you include:

• Price. Legal billing software comes with a range of prices. Most of the leading cloud-based billing software is priced monthly per user. You can typically also choose between several pricing tiers and select the product capabilities you need.
• Features. The sky’s the limit for the features available in billing software, with everything from time tracking to billing and invoicing to custom invoice templates. Review the software’s capabilities and choose what’s best for your needs.
• Payment function. Some legal billing software programs allow clients access to an online payment system. If you want this feature, look for ePayments or check out how clients can pay with a card, check, or even payment plans.
• Legal software integration. As mentioned, legal billing software can integrate with other legal software tools. However, not all legal billing software offers this functionality. Look for how a company’s legal billing tools work with case management or other software.
• Ease of use. Of course, if it’s not easy to use, you may not feel the benefits of your investment. If possible, try a demo to be sure this software is simple and powerful.

Legal Billing Software by Practice Area 

Legal billing software is an essential resource for managing a law firm’s business, no matter the size. 

For a solo practice, you may have a limited budget for accounting help — and that’s where legal billing software comes in. With automated invoicing tools, you don’t have to worry about when to send bills to clients and who hasn’t paid you. And with compliance features, you can rest assured that you aren’t overlooking details that can be hard to spot with one or a few pairs of eyes.

With small- and medium-sized firms, you may work with more resources and a larger budget for your accounting needs. Still, you can find many uses for legal billing software. Your staff can make more of their time instead of wasting needless hours jumping from QuickBooks to invoice tools to the printer and back again. Instead, your team can use the time you save on accounting to focus on boosting productivity, driving revenue, and optimizing your clients’ experience.

Implementing Legal Billing Software

Investing in legal billing software can pay off in more ways than one. It allows you to improve your firm’s efficiency, offer a better payment system for clients, and gain insights into your firm’s financial well-being. Legal billing software lets you dedicate more time to the things that matter most for your practice. 

If you’re ready to practice more, manage less, and stay competitive, Bill4Time can help. With time and expense tracking, custom invoices, and a full suite of legal software integrations, Bill4Time can help your team streamline your accounting systems. Get a free trial of Bill4Time’s legal billing software today and find out how adopting legal billing software can benefit your practice.

All businesses, law firms included, need reliable, consistent systems to maintain efficiency. While traditional processes served the legal industry for decades, those manual systems may not be sufficient to meet the current demand in the market. This is especially true when it comes to the law firm billing processes. 

Manual processes for time tracking and law firm invoicing can not only create delays with payment but leave room for costly errors to both the firm and the relationship with the client.

Automated invoice approval processes are the ideal way to create efficient invoicing and billing to get your firm paid faster and create a positive experience for the client. In this article, learn how law firm billing and invoicing software can reduce the invoice approval cycle to get firms paid faster. 

What Is an Invoice Approval Process?

In law firms, the invoice approval process involves a detailed review of the bills generated for legal services before they are sent to clients. It typically includes checking for correct rates, verifying the time spent on various tasks, and confirming that all expenses are properly documented and justified.

What Steps Are in the Invoice Approval Process?

Invoice approval processes are adjusted to the needs of the firm, but they typically include the following steps:

Data Capture

The first step is verifying that the invoice has all the necessary information. This includes the client’s name and address, the relevant dates, the legal services provided, the transaction amounts, and information about banks or financial institutions. Ideally, this information will be archived in the system for repeat clients and automated.

Invoice Verification

Verifying the invoice is the next step in the process, which involves comparing it to a draft bill for legal services. This is usually done when the matter is complete or on a periodic basis, such as monthly or quarterly.

The draft bill must be reviewed to ensure it’s accurate. You may need to adjust time increments or edit the descriptions before they can be verified, which starts the process over.

Invoice Approval

The data is assessed, recorded, and validated by all parties involved before being submitted for approval. Automated processes push the invoice through each stage, streamlining the process with notifications to alert each party of deadlines.

Payment Processing

Once the invoice is approved, it can be sent to the client for payment. An automated law firm invoice software, like Bill4Time, allows your firm to create the invoice and send it to the client via email or the client portal to complete the payment online.   

How Do Law Firms Traditionally Approve Invoices?

As mentioned before, law firms still relying on outdated, manual processes are susceptible to human errors, missed deadlines, and decreased efficiency.

Other issues arising from traditional law firm invoicing include: 

Lost Billable Time

Manual invoice approval processes are time-consuming. Legal staff can spend a lot of time comparing invoice details with client information, and preparing and sending invoices. If there are delays in payment, staff can find themselves spending an ample amount of time following up on payments.

Missing Invoices

If your law firm processes a high volume of paper invoices or even emailed or faxed invoices, it’s easy for one to get lost in the shuffle. If this happens, the process needs to be repeated all over again.

Slower Payments

Without automation, the invoice approval process can be time-consuming without accounting for the time to get paid by clients.  Invoices can sit in email inboxes or on a desk for days or weeks, extending the time before your firm is paid. 

Expensive Errors

Errors on invoices can result in billing discrepancies and poor client experience. If you overbill, it can impact client satisfaction and retention as clients may lose trust in your law firm. If it’s too low, you’re leaving money on the table. Mistakes can also occur in manual data entry, leading to inconsistencies in your law firm’s accounting.

How to Streamline the Invoice Approval Process

Bill4Time is the law firm invoicing software that helps you automate the entire billing process, from tracking your billable hours to sending invoices and monitoring your firm’s financial health, all in one place.

Automate Time Tracking for Accuracy

Tracking billable hours is one of the most time-consuming aspects of a lawyer’s day-to-day work — and error-prone. For some, more than 30% of billable time is lost because of inefficient timekeeping, which then complicates the invoicing process and negatively impacts client trust.

With Bill4Time’s legal time tracking software, you can accurately and quickly track your billable hours in real-time. Instead of spreadsheets or notepads, the tool offers a timer that you can access on your phone, tablet, or desktop to record your billable time.

You can also track your non-billable time separately for precision and accuracy. Then, whether you’re in the field or in the office, you can simultaneously run timers to record different time entries seamlessly.

Create an Invoice Approval Workflow

Automating your invoice process saves time and effort. With the project and task management features in Bill4Time, you can set up an invoice workflow that works best for your firm. You can include all the steps, associated tasks, including the parties involved, and deadline notifications to ensure nothing is missed.

Use Invoice Templates

Invoicing is a significant burden on your legal staff. With Bill4Time, you can create professional, branded invoice templates in a matter of minutes, including pre-bills, detailed invoices, and financial statements.

If you have alternative fee structures, you can set up your invoices to offer flat or fixed-rate, or percentage discounts. All invoices are branded with your logo and company details, payment terms, late fees, and currency, eliminating much of the repetitive work that goes into invoicing.

When invoices are approved, send them via email or Bill4Time’s secure, compliant client portal. With Bill4Time Payments, clients can pay their invoices conveniently with credit cards, debit cards, or ACH from any deceive. Your firm can even create custom payment plans to make larger bills more digestible for clients. 

Automate Your Firm’s Invoice Approvals with Bill4Time

If you’re ready to save time and money by ridding your firm of manual processes, Bill4Time is here to help streamline your practice. With branded invoices, time tracking for lawyers, and automated workflows, Bill4Time simplifies your entire invoicing and billing process to get your firm paid faster, reduce time wasted on repetitive processes, and improve the client experience.

In the intricate realm of legal practice, compliance is the bedrock upon which the edifice of trust and ethics rests. Attorneys at small law firms are increasingly cognizant of the importance of legal compliance in time tracking. This practice extends beyond mere efficiency; it safeguards against potential legal pitfalls.

In navigating this landscape, attorneys must focus on the best practices ensuring compliance standards adherence. This involves meticulous documentation, safeguarding client confidentiality, and ensuring billing processes align seamlessly with ethical guidelines.

A steadfast commitment to legal compliance underscores the path to compliant time tracking, ensuring that small law firms remain bastions of ethical and lawful practice. 

Importance of Legal Compliance in Time Tracking for Law Firms

In legal practice, the significance of accurate time tracking cannot be overstated. Attorneys are entrusted with the duty not only to uphold the law but also to abide by it. This extends to precisely tracking billable hours, a seemingly mundane task with profound implications for legal compliance.

Accurate time tracking serves as a sentinel, guarding against the breach of ethical boundaries. It underpins trust between you and your clients and fosters transparency in financial transactions. However, improper time tracking can unravel this delicate balance, leading to a quagmire of legal issues.

Improperly documented billable hours can swiftly escalate into allegations of overbilling or underreporting, casting a shadow of doubt on the integrity of legal professionals. Such disputes threaten law firms’ reputations and can result in financial repercussions.

Invoices laden with inaccuracies may trigger contentious legal battles, causing payment delays, tarnishing the firm’s image, and eroding client trust. Additionally, non-compliance with time-tracking regulations may expose the firm to fines and penalties.

It would be best if you grasped that accurate time tracking is not merely an administrative chore; it is an essential component of legal compliance and a safeguard against potential legal issues and financial repercussions that could jeopardize the very foundation of your practice.

What Are the Legal Implications of Improper Time Tracking? 

You are a guardian of justice. It would be best if you hammered into your thought processes the understanding that time tracking is not simply an administrative chore you can pass to your assistant but a pivotal element of your practice that demands your utmost concern. Failure to uphold precise records can have far-reaching legal consequences. Let’s delve into the labyrinthine world of inaccurate time tracking and its legal consequences.

Client Billing

To begin, exploring the potential legal consequences leads us to the precarious terrain of client billing. When time entries are askew, allegations of overbilling or underreporting can emerge, casting a shadow on your firm’s reputation and integrity. Disputes may escalate into full-blown legal battles, entailing loss of time, resources, and trust.

Ethical Concerns

Ethical concerns loom large as well. You are bound by a code of ethics that mandates honesty and transparency in your dealings. Any deviation from accurate time tracking jeopardizes these principles, raising ethical red flags that can result in disciplinary actions.

Regulatory Compliance

Furthermore, regulatory compliance is at stake. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), Model Rule 1.5 states, “[a] lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses.” When you improperly handle your legal billing and time tracking, you place yourself and your firm at risk of charging clients “unreasonable” fees or expenses, such as interest for late payments that you forgot to log or clearly wrong hours billed.

Legal authorities have stringent guidelines regarding timekeeping practices. Non-compliance can lead to fines and penalties that dent the firm’s financial health. In extreme cases, you can be barred from legal practice.

Best Practices for Legal Compliance in Time Tracking

You are entrusted with upholding the law and must adhere to stringent guidelines regarding time tracking. To ensure legal compliance in this vital aspect of your practice, it is imperative to highlight essential policies and procedures that fortify your ethical standing.

1. Documentation Excellence. The foundation of compliant time tracking lies in detailed documentation. It would be best to precisely record billable and non-billable hours, including detailed descriptions of tasks undertaken.
2. Transparency as a Shield. Transparency in time tracking is paramount. It builds trust with clients and safeguards against allegations of overbilling or underreporting. Openly sharing time entries fosters accountability.
3. Ethical Considerations. Upholding ethical standards is non-negotiable. You should ensure that time entries reflect actual work, avoiding any temptation to manipulate records for personal gain.
4. Regular Auditing. Implementing regular audits of time records can reveal discrepancies and rectify them promptly, mitigating potential compliance issues.
5. Education and Training. Keep your legal team informed about the latest regulations and best time-tracking practices. Training sessions can help instill a culture of compliance. 

Embracing these best practices ensures legal compliance and reinforces the ethical foundation of legal practice.

What Is Legal Time Tracking Software?

In the intrinsic world of legal practice, precision and efficiency are paramount. Enter legal time tracking software, a powerful tool tailored to meet the unique demands of attorneys and law firms. Let’s delve into this essential innovation, exploring its myriad benefits and spotlighting Bill4Time, a standout player in this arena.

Legal time tracking software is a specialized digital solution designed to streamline the process of recording billable hours. It offers a seamless platform to document your work precisely and accurately, ensuring adherence to the highest legal compliance standards.

The advantages are manifold! Legal time tracking software:

• Eliminates the arduous task of manual time tracking.
• Saves valuable hours that can be channeled into core legal activities.
• Enhances accuracy.
• Mitigates the risk of errors that can lead to disputes or even legal repercussions.

Bill4Time, a leading player in this sphere, offers a suite of features tailored to meet the needs of law firms. Its intuitive interface simplifies time tracking, making it easy for legal professionals to document tasks. Moreover, it provides detailed reports, aiding in transparent client billing and regulatory compliance.

Legal time-tracking software is an indispensable ally as you seek to optimize your practice. Bill4Time, with its user-friendly features and unwavering commitment to enhancing the legal compliance landscape, stands as a beacon of efficiency in the legal realm.

How to Implement Compliant Time Tracking Software

Efficient time tracking is the lifeblood of law firm operations, and integrating legal time tracking software can be a transformative step. This step-by-step guide underscores the significance of choosing the right software solution and its seamless integration.

• Assessment and Selection. Begin by assessing your law firm’s specific needs and objectives. Identify key features and functionalities required to meet those needs. Ensure the chosen software aligns with your firm’s size, practice areas, and compliance requirements.
• Training and Familiarization. Invest time in training your legal team on the selected software. Ensure they are well-versed in its functionalities, including time entry, reporting, and data security.
• Customization. Tailor the software to suit your firm’s unique workflows. This may involve creating custom codes or templates for different practice areas.
• Data Migration. If transitioning from an existing system, ensure a smooth data migration process. Verify that the new software accurately transfers all historical time records and client information.
• Testing and Quality Assurance. Before fully integrating the software into your daily operations, conduct rigorous testing. This will help identify and rectify any potential issues or glitches.
• Ongoing Support and Maintenance. Post-implementation, establish a support system for troubleshooting and addressing user queries. Regularly update the software to benefit from the latest features and security enhancements.

6 Tips to Audit and Monitor Time Tracking Compliance

Time-tracking compliance is not a formality for law firms but a cornerstone of ethical practice and financial transparency. Consider these practical tips for auditing and monitoring compliance to ensure your firm’s time-tracking practices remain above reproach.

1. Regular Reviews. Conduct periodic reviews of time records. Scrutinize entries for accuracy, ensuring that billable and non-billable hours are correctly documented. Address discrepancies promptly.
2. Training. Invest in ongoing training for your legal team. Ensure they understand the importance of precision and ethical adherence.
3. Accountability Measures. Implement accountability mechanisms within your firm. Assign specific individuals to oversee time-tracking compliance and hold them responsible for maintaining the highest standards.
4. Audit Trails. Leverage time-tracking software with robust audit trail capabilities. These trails provide a detailed history of time entries, making identifying any alterations or inconsistencies easier.
5. Client Validation. Encourage clients to review and validate time entries. This builds trust and acts as an additional layer of accountability.
6. Documentation. Emphasize the importance of detailed task descriptions. Be encouraged to provide clear, concise explanations for each time entry, enhancing transparency.

Proactive auditing and monitoring of time-tracking compliance are essential to the integrity and reputation of your law firm. By incorporating these tips into your practice, you uphold ethical standards and fortify your firm’s commitment to transparent and compliant time-tracking.

Ensure Legal Compliance with Bill4Time

The legal implications of improper time-tracking encompass a web of client billing disputes, ethical quandaries, and regulatory breaches. Your path to legal excellence starts with meticulous timekeeping, safeguarding your practice and reputation.

In legal practice, Bill4Time emerges as an indispensable ally for attorneys striving to uphold the highest legal compliance standards. Bill4Time is a guardian of legal compliance by helping to mitigate the risk of overbilling and underreporting, fostering open communication with clients through precise, detailed time entries, and reinforcing integrity and accountability in legal practice.

Law firms are ethically obligated to protect their clients’ data. Any information a client shares with their attorney should remain confidential. However, a cybersecurity attack can compromise the client’s private information, allowing hackers to leverage this data for financial gain. Role-based access control can help avoid the fallout of a worst-case scenario situation.

A cybersecurity incident can harm your clients’ reputations and finances and negatively affect your firm. Clients can pursue a legal malpractice lawsuit against you, and you could lose cases once prospective clients learn about the data breach.

Your law firm can avoid these negative consequences by implementing a role-based access control policy so it can protect the valuable information clients trust you to keep private. 

Data Security for Law Firms

The American Bar Association (ABA) sets rules law firms must follow when it comes to privacy and security standards. For example, according to Rule 1.6:

• Lawyers cannot give away a client’s information without the client’s informed consent.
• An attorney can reveal a client’s information only if the lawyer believes it is reasonably necessary, such as to prevent bodily harm, stop the client from committing a crime, or obstruct financial injury.
• Lawyers must make efforts to prevent unapproved access to client information.

The ABA’s Formal Opinion 483 outlines how law firms should handle data security breaches. Per the ABA, lawyers must:

• Take security measures to protect the client, especially when it comes to technology
• Regularly monitor their plans for minimizing the fallout if a cybersecurity attack occurs
• Stop a data breach and prevent a hacker from further releasing client data
• Inform clients of a data breach as soon as possible

Certain sensitive client information may require more than the standard level of security. Because lawyers are often responsible for handling money that belongs to clients, law firms should take extra precautions to protect their clients’ financial interests against cyber risks. If a hacker gains access to your firm’s Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA), you and your client may be in financial trouble.

Taking steps to protect your clients’ information, such as by setting up role-based user access, can give your team peace of mind that secure information is protected.

What Is Role-Based Access Control?

Role-based access control limits the access certain team members have to information and system functions based on their role within the firm. Essentially, role-based access control helps keep data secure by ensuring employees can access only the information they need to perform their jobs.

Your firm can delegate access to information based on a few factors, including:

• Authority. Lower-level employees may not need access to the same information as your firm’s executives.
• Responsibility. Employees only need to access information related to their position’s duties.
• Job competency. Employees whose jobs require more technical skills may need to access certain information.

Your firm can also decide which role each employee should have. Many organizations assign roles like the following:

• Administrator: An administrator generally has high-level access to information. Administrator roles are usually assigned to executive employees or members of your firm that need access to certain data to adequately perform their jobs. They can create and edit documents and create and add new users.
• End user: These users typically can access information that administrators deem necessary. They may be able to view certain documents but do not have permission to edit or share them.

By implementing role-based access control, you can decide what permissions each user has. For law firms, access management has several uses, including:

Mitigating Cybersecurity Concerns

If your law firm has several employees, each user is likely working on a different device. If your firm’s employees work remotely, limiting certain users’ access to data can help prevent a data breach.

Many firms also use cloud-based software, allowing their employees to access data, software, and servers using the internet. While this is often beneficial in terms of cost and convenience, allowing users to access information anytime, anywhere presents security concerns. Restricting user access to data stored in the cloud can minimize the risk of compromising sensitive information.

Abiding by the ABA’s Rules

As previously mentioned, the ABA requires lawyers to prevent unauthorized access to client information. If your firm allows only high-level employees access to sensitive information, it adheres to the ABA’s rules.

Ensuring Law Firm Productivity

Allowing your firm’s members to access only the information that is essential to their role can benefit your organization’s productivity. Overall, it helps ensure your employees stay on task and focus on their position’s goals.

The Importance of Role-Based Access Control for Law Firms

Regularly monitoring access rights is the best practice for ongoing security. If an employee’s role within your firm changes, or an employee is terminated, their access should be adjusted. Generally, when an employee is terminated or leaves your firm, you should prohibit them from accessing any of your firm’s data. Ensuring you’re aware of all users who can view sensitive information can help your firm avoid a data breach.

A routine security audit may also benefit your law firm. This might include:

• Checking in on database permissions to ensure the right users have access to the information they need.
• Reminding your employees to remain alert when it comes to common potential threats, such as phishing attacks, suspicious links, and spam emails.
• Making sure your IT department has a plan in case a cyber attack occurs.
• Running tests to identify potential weak spots in your law firm’s data security.

Role-based access control also ensures your firm is not vulnerable to legal liability or disciplinary action from the ABA. You can protect your clients and law firm by safeguarding the sensitive data entrusted with.

Legal technology can make the process of routinely monitoring user access levels easier. For instance, Bill4Time’s data security software can help your firm remain productive and keeps your data protected by:

• Offering 24/7 service
• Using data centers to ensure natural disasters and local outages do not compromise your firm’s data or productivity
• Providing your firm with options to customize user access and give temporary access to contracted employees
• Automatically tracking user logins

Using legal technology to protect your firm’s sensitive information gives you one less thing to worry about.

Best Practices for Role-Based Access Controls

The following security practices for role-based access controls may make all the difference in protecting your firm’s data. Consider the following:

Track All Data Access

Recording database logins, information downloads, and the locations of logins can help your firm determine how and when a breach was caused. Some firms adopt a User and Entity Behavior Analysis (UEBA) tool to point out any cyber threats.

Require Your Employees to Use Strong Passwords

Hackers can easily access private information when users create insecure passwords. While many users recycle the same password across multiple accounts, this may make them more vulnerable to a security breach.

You can set up your firm’s systems to deny a password that does not meet certain criteria. For example, you may require users to create strong passwords that:

• Are at least 12 to 14 characters long.
• Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters.
• Do not include publicly known dates or names, such as your birthdate or your children’s name.
• Use various numbers and symbols.

Your firm’s employees should also regularly reset their login information for password security. 

Add Multi Factor Authentication for Enhanced Security

Adding two-factor authentication or multifactor authentication to the login process makes it harder for hackers to log in to your company’s web portals. Multi Factor authentication typically involves typing in your username and password, then:

• Entering a code sent to your mobile device
• Answering security questions
• Getting login information, such as password keys, sent to your email address
• Verifying that you are a human user via Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) tools

Outlook on Keeping Your Firm’s Data Secure

Applying role-based access control to your law practice management software adds a layer of confidence to your firm’s data security. Restricting access to information based on each employee’s role within your firm can ease some stress your firm might face in keeping secure information safe.

Maintaining the privacy of sensitive information not only benefits your clients but can also help your firm stay clear of malpractice lawsuits and repercussions from the ABA. Your law firm can take several precautions to stay safe from hackers, such as training employees to pick up on their tricky tactics and requiring strong passwords.

Your firm may also consider adapting Bill4Time’s data security technology, which allows administrators to appropriately delegate user access and track user logins. With Bill4Time, you can control which users can access the information they need to complete projects while keeping your firm running smoothly. You can also set user permissions for functions, allow temporary access for contractors, and enable automatic login tracking.