Many small law firms still buy IT support the old way: when something breaks, call someone and pay by the hour. For a very small firm with simple needs, that can work. But as firms grow, adopt cloud tools and face client security expectations, the break-fix model starts to show its limits. This post offers a way to think through the choice without relying on made-up numbers.
The two models in plain terms
Break-fix means you pay for help when there is a problem. The provider is paid to fix things, so their income rises when more things break.
Managed IT means you pay a recurring fee, often per user or per device, for ongoing monitoring, maintenance, support and security. The provider's incentive shifts toward preventing problems, since outages cost them time too.
Questions to ask about your firm
1. How much does an hour of downtime cost?
Add up the attorney and staff billable time lost, deadline risk, and client frustration. Most firms have never done this exercise, and it often reframes the decision. If the answer is substantial, response time and prevention matter more than the hourly rate.
2. Who is watching for threats?
Under break-fix, nobody usually monitors your systems between calls. Attacks do not wait for business hours, and an intruder can sit unnoticed for weeks. Managed services typically include monitoring and alerting. Ask who responds at 2 a.m. and what that costs.
3. How predictable must your budget be?
Break-fix costs spike during incidents, which are the worst time to be surprised. A fixed monthly fee makes budgeting simpler, though you should understand which projects and hardware fall outside it.
4. What do clients and insurers expect?
Cyber insurance applications and client questionnaires ask about monitoring, patching, MFA, backups and training. Break-fix arrangements rarely deliver these as routine services, and documenting them is harder.
5. Who keeps documentation?
A managed provider normally maintains inventories, diagrams and a patching record as part of the service. Under break-fix, knowledge often lives in a technician's memory.
6. How complex is your environment?
Multiple offices, cloud practice management, remote attorneys and mobile devices all increase the amount of routine maintenance. The more moving parts, the more value in continuous attention.
Hidden costs on each side
Break-fix
- Time lost waiting for availability
- Deferred maintenance, because paying for prevention is a choice nobody makes
- Emergency rates and after-hours fees
- Emergency purchases made under pressure
- Security gaps that go unaddressed because no one is accountable
Managed IT
- Services outside the contract scope, billed separately
- Long contract terms with difficult exit provisions
- A provider that is less responsive than promised
- Paying for tools you do not use
Both can be done well or badly. The structure matters, but the quality of the people matters more.
When break-fix may still make sense
- A solo or two-person firm with fully cloud-based, standard tools and a technically comfortable owner
- A short-term need, such as a one-time project
- A firm with strong internal IT staff who only need occasional specialist help
Even then, consider covering the basics, such as managed backups, MFA and email security, as a small recurring service.
A middle path: co-managed IT
If you have an internal administrator or IT person, a co-managed model lets the provider handle monitoring, security tooling, after-hours coverage and projects, while your staff handle day-to-day needs. It can be cost-effective for firms in the 30 to 150 attorney range.
How to compare proposals fairly
- Request each provider's scope in writing, with inclusions and exclusions
- List your actual systems and ask how each is supported
- Ask for response and resolution targets by priority
- Clarify what security services are included and who monitors them
- Review termination terms and data handover
- Speak with references that are law firms
- Compare total expected annual cost, including projects and hardware, rather than hourly rate or monthly fee alone
Revisit the decision periodically
What fit at five people may not fit at twenty-five. Review the arrangement annually and whenever you add an office, open a new practice area or receive a security questionnaire you struggle to answer.
Talk it through with Counsel Cyber
We are happy to review your current support arrangement and give an honest opinion about what fits your firm, including when your current setup is adequate.