A 25–50 employee law firm should conduct a formal IT review at least once every 12 months, with higher-risk areas such as cybersecurity, backups, user access, and Microsoft 365 reviewed more frequently.
A comprehensive law firm IT assessment should examine at least 20 areas across five categories: cybersecurity, Microsoft 365 and cloud services, business continuity, employee technology, and IT management.
Why so much attention?
Because a law firm can have perfectly functioning computers while still carrying significant technology risk. An untested backup, forgotten employee account, poorly configured Microsoft 365 environment, aging firewall, or missing incident-response plan may not cause an obvious problem today—but could become a serious issue tomorrow.
For law firms in Bellevue and the greater Seattle area, this 20-point checklist provides a practical framework for evaluating whether your technology is secure, reliable, and ready to support the firm for another year.
Category 1: Cybersecurity
1. Multi-Factor Authentication
Start with identity.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be enabled on appropriate business systems, particularly those containing confidential or sensitive information.
Review MFA for:
- Microsoft 365
- Remote access
- Practice-management applications
- Document-management systems
- Financial applications
- Administrative accounts
- Other cloud services containing sensitive information
Don't assume MFA is enabled simply because the application supports it.
Verify the configuration.
2. Endpoint Security
Every firm-managed computer should have appropriate endpoint protection.
Modern protection should go beyond traditional antivirus and may include Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) or Managed Detection and Response (MDR).
Review:
- Attorney laptops
- Staff computers
- Servers
- Remote devices
- Firm-owned mobile equipment where applicable
Also identify devices that haven't checked in with your security platform recently.
A security tool cannot protect a computer it no longer sees.
3. Patch Management
Operating systems and applications should be updated through a documented patch-management process.
Review:
- Windows
- macOS
- Browsers
- Microsoft 365 applications
- PDF software
- Legal applications
- Server software
- Network equipment and firmware
Pay particular attention to unsupported operating systems and applications.
Software that no longer receives security updates creates unnecessary risk.
4. Email Security
Email continues to be a major avenue for phishing, credential theft, malware, and business email compromise.
Your annual review should examine:
- Anti-phishing protection
- Malicious attachment protection
- Suspicious link protection
- Impersonation controls
- Spam filtering
- SPF
- DKIM
- DMARC
Technical controls should be combined with employee training and financial verification procedures.
5. Security Awareness Training
Attorneys and staff are part of the firm's cybersecurity defenses.
Employees should understand how to recognize:
- Phishing
- Fake Microsoft login pages
- Fraudulent payment requests
- Social engineering
- Suspicious MFA prompts
- Malicious attachments
- AI-enabled impersonation attempts
Rather than relying solely on an annual presentation, consider shorter training and awareness activities throughout the year.
Category 2: Microsoft 365 and Cloud Security
6. Microsoft 365 Security Configuration
Microsoft 365 is often one of a law firm's most important technology platforms.
Review settings related to:
- Authentication
- Administrative privileges
- External sharing
- Email security
- Audit capabilities
- Conditional Access, where appropriate
- Information protection, where appropriate
- User account lifecycle management
Microsoft 365 provides substantial security capabilities, but those capabilities still need to be configured and managed appropriately.
7. SharePoint and OneDrive Permissions
Cloud storage can gradually become disorganized as employees create folders, share documents, and invite external users.
Review:
- External sharing
- Anonymous or broadly accessible links
- Guest users
- Old project folders
- Former employees
- Sensitive matter permissions
- Overly broad internal access
Ask a simple question:
Can every employee who currently has access to this information explain why they need it?
If not, permissions deserve attention.
8. Teams and External Collaboration
Microsoft Teams can contain conversations, documents, meeting information, and external participants.
Review:
- Guest accounts
- External access
- Team ownership
- Inactive Teams
- File permissions
- Sharing policies
Remove access that is no longer required.
9. Cloud Application Inventory
Microsoft 365 probably isn't your firm's only cloud platform.
Create an inventory of applications being used for:
- Practice management
- Document management
- Accounting
- Time and billing
- eSignature
- File sharing
- Research
- AI
- Meetings
- Password management
- Client communications
Then identify who owns each system and who is responsible for security and access management.
10. AI Application Governance
Generative AI has created a new IT-management challenge.
Employees may be using ChatGPT, Copilot, legal AI platforms, meeting assistants, or other AI applications without centralized oversight.
At minimum, establish:
- An approved AI application list.
- Rules for confidential information.
- Account-management requirements.
- Human-review requirements.
- A process for approving new AI tools.
AI should become part of your existing IT governance rather than developing into a separate shadow technology environment.
Category 3: Backup, Recovery, and Business Continuity
11. Backup Coverage
Ask exactly what is being backed up.
Depending on your environment, that may include:
- Servers
- Documents
- Databases
- Cloud applications
- Microsoft 365 information
- Practice-management data
- Critical configuration information
Don't assume a cloud application automatically satisfies your firm's backup and recovery requirements.
Understand what the vendor protects and what remains your responsibility.
12. Backup Restoration Testing
Having backups is not the same as having recoverable data.
Test restoration.
Your firm should know:
- What can be restored
- How restoration works
- Who performs it
- Approximately how long recovery could take
- Which systems receive priority
The middle of a ransomware incident is a terrible time to discover that nobody has tested the recovery process.
13. Recovery Time Objectives
For each critical system, ask:
How long could we operate without it?
Consider:
- Internet
- Document management
- Practice-management software
- Phones
- Accounting
- File access
A system that must return within 4 hours requires a different recovery strategy than one the firm can operate without for 48 hours.
Document these expectations.
14. Internet and Communications Redundancy
For a cloud-dependent firm, an internet outage can become an office outage.
Review whether you need:
- Secondary internet connectivity
- Cellular failover
- Backup communications
- Remote-work contingency procedures
Also determine what employees should do if the Bellevue office becomes inaccessible for a day.
Business continuity isn't limited to ransomware.
15. Incident Response Plan
Your firm should have a documented response process for events such as:
- Ransomware
- Compromised email
- Lost devices
- Fraud attempts
- Unauthorized data access
- Major outages
At minimum, employees should know who to contact first.
Keep emergency contact information somewhere accessible even if your primary network or Microsoft 365 environment becomes unavailable.
Category 4: Employee Technology
16. Computer Lifecycle
Aging computers create both productivity and security problems.
Create an inventory containing:
- Device
- User
- Purchase date
- Warranty status
- Operating system
- Replacement target
Instead of replacing computers only when they fail, establish a planned lifecycle based on your firm's requirements.
This makes technology spending more predictable and reduces emergency purchases.
17. Secure Remote Work
Attorneys work from home, court, client locations, airports, hotels, and other environments.
Review how remote employees access:
- Client files
- Microsoft 365
- Practice-management systems
- Internal applications
Remote-access security may include:
- Managed devices
- MFA
- Device encryption
- Secure access technologies
- Mobile-device controls
- Automatic locking
- Appropriate restrictions on local data storage
Remote work should provide flexibility without creating a separate, weaker security environment.
18. Employee Onboarding
Every new employee should go through a consistent technology onboarding process.
Create a checklist covering:
- Computer setup
- Microsoft 365 account
- Required applications
- MFA enrollment
- File permissions
- Security training
- AI policy
- Remote-access setup
Standardization reduces mistakes and helps new employees become productive faster.
19. Employee Offboarding
Offboarding deserves equal attention.
When an attorney or employee leaves, determine who is responsible for:
- Disabling accounts
- Revoking active sessions
- Removing remote access
- Recovering devices
- Changing shared credentials
- Transferring files
- Removing cloud application access
- Reviewing external sharing
- Preserving required information
For planned departures, coordinate IT access changes with the firm's leadership rather than handling them informally.
Category 5: IT Strategy and Management
20. Annual Technology Roadmap and Budget
The final item connects everything else.
Your law firm should maintain a 12–36 month technology roadmap.
It should identify upcoming needs such as:
- Computer replacements
- Server upgrades
- Microsoft licensing
- Cybersecurity improvements
- Cloud migrations
- AI adoption
- Practice-management changes
- Office moves
- Network upgrades
- Backup improvements
Then translate those requirements into a predictable technology budget.
This changes IT from a series of unexpected expenses into a planned business investment.
The 20-Point Law Firm IT Checklist
Use this condensed version during your next technology review.
Cybersecurity
- 1. Verify MFA on appropriate systems.
- 2. Review endpoint security coverage.
- 3. Confirm operating systems and applications are patched.
- 4. Review email-security configuration.
- 5. Conduct ongoing security-awareness training.
Microsoft 365 & Cloud
- 6. Review Microsoft 365 security settings.
- 7. Audit SharePoint and OneDrive permissions.
- 8. Review Teams guests and external collaboration.
- 9. Inventory cloud applications.
- 10. Establish or update AI governance.
Business Continuity
- 11. Verify backup coverage.
- 12. Test backup restoration.
- 13. Document recovery-time objectives.
- 14. Review internet and communications redundancy.
- 15. Test the incident-response plan.
Employee Technology
- 16. Review computer age and replacement plans.
- 17. Review remote-work security.
- 18. Standardize employee onboarding.
- 19. Standardize employee offboarding.
IT Strategy
- 20. Update the 12–36 month technology roadmap and budget.
How Often Should a Law Firm Conduct an IT Review?
A comprehensive technology assessment should generally be conducted at least annually, but that doesn't mean critical systems should be ignored for the other 364 days.
A practical schedule is:
Continuously: Security monitoring, endpoint protection, backups, and threat detection.
Monthly: Patching, account review where appropriate, system health, and backup monitoring.
Quarterly: Strategic technology review, security trends, significant access changes, AI applications, upcoming projects, and budget.
Annually: Comprehensive assessment, risk review, lifecycle planning, business continuity review, and 12–36 month technology roadmap.
Significant business or technology changes may justify additional reviews.
How Much Should a 25–50 Employee Law Firm Budget for Managed IT?
For a 25–50 employee Bellevue law firm, a planning range of approximately $200–$250 per user per month for comprehensive managed IT services translates to roughly:
| Employees | Estimated Monthly IT Services Budget |
|---|---|
| 25 | $5,000–$6,250 |
| 30 | $6,000–$7,500 |
| 40 | $8,000–$10,000 |
| 50 | $10,000–$12,500 |
Actual pricing varies according to the technology environment, cybersecurity requirements, included services, locations, applications, and projects.
Hardware, major migrations, software licensing, cabling, compliance work, and other projects may also be priced separately.
The important question isn't simply:
"How much does IT cost?"
Ask:
"What business outcomes, security protections, support, and strategic services are included in that cost?"
Frequently Asked Questions About Law Firm IT
What are the most important IT systems for a law firm?
For many firms, the highest-priority systems include identity and email, document and practice-management platforms, cybersecurity, endpoint management, internet connectivity, backups, and business continuity.
If one of these systems fails, attorneys may have difficulty serving clients.
Does a small law firm really need 24/7 IT monitoring?
Critical systems and security events don't necessarily fail during office hours. Continuous monitoring can help identify outages, device problems, and suspicious activity earlier.
That doesn't necessarily mean every routine support request requires 24/7 live help. Monitoring and help-desk availability should be evaluated separately.
How often should law firms replace computers?
There isn't one replacement interval appropriate for every firm. Rather than waiting for hardware failure, establish a planned lifecycle based on warranty status, performance, operating-system support, security requirements, and the firm's workload.
Should a law firm use an internal IT employee or an MSP?
The right model depends on firm size and complexity.
A managed IT provider can give a 25–50 employee firm access to multiple specialties—help desk, networking, Microsoft 365, cybersecurity, backup, and strategic planning—without requiring the firm to hire a separate employee for every discipline.
Some firms also use a hybrid model combining internal IT with an MSP.
Should Microsoft 365 be backed up separately?
Microsoft provides platform resilience and various retention and recovery capabilities, but firms should evaluate whether those capabilities meet their specific backup and recovery requirements.
The correct answer depends on what information must be recoverable, for how long, and how quickly.
How do we know whether our law firm's cybersecurity is good enough?
Start with evidence rather than assumptions.
Review:
- MFA coverage
- Endpoint protection
- Email security
- Patching
- Backup testing
- User permissions
- Security training
- Incident response
- Monitoring
- Risk assessments
If your firm cannot document how these controls are managed, that's an appropriate place to begin.
Turn Your Annual IT Review Into a Business Planning Exercise
A law firm's annual technology review shouldn't end with a list of technical problems.
It should produce a prioritized roadmap.
For every issue identified, assign:
- Risk: High, Medium, or Low.
- Business impact: What happens if we do nothing?
- Recommended action: What should change?
- Owner: Who is responsible?
- Deadline: When should it be completed?
- Budget: What will it cost?
That transforms an IT assessment from a technical report into a management tool.
For a 25–50 employee law firm in Bellevue, the objective isn't to have the newest technology.
It's to maintain technology that is secure, reliable, recoverable, manageable, and aligned with the firm's business goals.
If your firm hasn't completed a structured technology review within the last 12 months, use these 20 items as the agenda for your next IT planning meeting.
Twenty questions today can uncover technology risks before they become expensive problems tomorrow.
