Many law firms start with an IT person who is a friend of the firm, a nephew of a partner, or a one-person shop that has handled everything for years. As the firm grows, or as clients start asking harder security questions, the question becomes whether to move to a managed IT provider. If you do, it helps to know what good looks like.
A managed service provider (MSP) takes responsibility for your technology on an ongoing basis, usually for a predictable monthly fee. For a law firm, the right provider is not just a help desk. It is a partner that understands confidentiality, deadlines, and the software lawyers actually use.
What Should Be Included
Day-to-day support
- A responsive help desk with stated response times, not just a phone number
- Onboarding and offboarding of staff, including account and device setup
- Hardware and software procurement advice
- Support for the applications your firm depends on, such as Microsoft 365, your practice management platform, and your document management system
Proactive management
- Monitoring of servers, workstations and network devices
- Regular patching of operating systems and applications
- Backup management with documented restore tests
- Asset inventory so you know what you own and when it needs replacing
Security as part of the service
Security should not be an add-on afterthought. Ask what is included for:
- Multi-factor authentication and identity management
- Email filtering and impersonation protection
- Endpoint detection and response with someone watching the alerts
- Security awareness training
- An incident response plan and a defined process for who does what
Planning and reporting
- A named contact or virtual CIO who meets with firm leadership regularly
- A technology roadmap and budget
- Reports you can actually read, such as patch status, ticket trends, and open risks
Questions to Ask Before Signing
- What exactly is covered, and what costs extra? Get a written scope. Project work, after-hours support, and onsite visits are common surprise charges.
- How do you handle confidential data? Your provider's technicians will have broad access to client information. Ask about background checks, access controls, and confidentiality agreements. ABA Model Rule 5.3 addresses a lawyer's responsibility for nonlawyer assistance, which includes outside vendors.
- Do you have experience with law firms? Ask about legal software, trust accounting concerns, and cyber insurance and client questionnaire support.
- What happens during a security incident? You want a defined process, a 24-hour contact, and clarity on what is included versus billed separately.
- Who owns the documentation and the passwords? You should always have access to administrative credentials and network documentation, even if you leave.
- What are the contract terms? Look at length, auto-renewal, termination rights and transition assistance.
- Can we speak to references? Preferably other professional services firms of similar size.
Warning Signs of a Weak Provider
- Reports come only when you ask for them
- You hear about problems from staff before your IT provider tells you
- Nobody can tell you when the last backup restore test was done
- Admin passwords are known only to the provider
- Security is described as "we have antivirus"
- Every request becomes a billable project
- The same issues keep recurring without a root-cause fix
What to Expect on Cost
Pricing varies by firm size, the number of devices and users, and the level of security included. Ask for a per-user or per-device price with a clear list of inclusions, and compare proposals on scope rather than on the headline number alone. A cheaper agreement that excludes security monitoring and backup testing can cost far more when something goes wrong.
Making the Transition Smooth
A good provider will begin with an assessment of your current environment, document what exists, and fix urgent risks before settling into steady-state service. Plan for a few weeks of adjustment, communicate the change to staff, and designate one internal point of contact.
About Counsel Cyber
Counsel Cyber is a cybersecurity-first managed IT provider built for law firms in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas. If you are comparing providers, we are happy to walk through this list with you, including how we would answer each question.