In the legal industry, trust extends to every partner, platform, and provider in your litigation ecosystem. As law firms handle more confidential client data, robust internal controls are crucial, and the security of third-party vendors is equally essential to maintaining data integrity and confidentiality.

In an environment where data breaches and ransomware attacks are increasingly common, overlooking this critical layer of risk is a mistake few firms can afford. At Proteus, we fully recognize the significance of this responsibility and are deeply committed to it. This is why we recently achieved SOC 2® Type 1 compliance — a key milestone in our ongoing efforts to safeguard sensitive information and uphold the highest standards of security for our clients.

Why should this matter to you?

When You Hire a Vendor, You Share the Risk

In eDiscovery, including managed review and digital forensics, legal service providers handle privileged information, sensitive communications, and sometimes entire litigation strategies. By hiring a vendor, you are implicitly entrusting them with critical responsibilities, effectively extending your professional obligations to an outside party.

If that vendor has inadequate security protocols or unverified infrastructure, it introduces a risk vector that could compromise client data, your reputation, and your duty of care. In simple terms: you are only as secure as your weakest link.

SOC 2®: What It Means (and Why It Matters)

SOC 2® compliance is far more than a simple checkbox – it represents a rigorous, independent attestation of a service provider’s ability to manage data securely. Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), SOC 2 audits assess five Trust Services Criteria: Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy.

A Type 1 attestation confirms that security controls are well-designed at a specific point in time. A Type 2 goes further by validating that those controls are operating effectively over a sustained period. When vendors achieve and maintain SOC 2 compliance, they are not only demonstrating their commitment to security – they are providing evidence of it.

What Law Firms Should Look For in a Security-Conscious Partner

Choosing a legal services provider should not be driven by price alone. Instead, seek a partner who understands your ethical obligations, prioritizes data integrity, and proactively invests in secure infrastructure.

Here are a few key considerations:

• Request Evidence of Security Measures: Ask for recent SOC 2 reports or other third-party assessments. A reputable vendor will be transparent and forthcoming with this information.
  
  
• Review Data Governance Policies: Ensure your provider’s protocols for access control, incident response, and data retention align with your firm’s standards.
  
  
• Ask About Subprocessors and Subcontractors: Understand how they vet their partners and maintain oversight.
  
  
• Prioritize Operational Expertise: Choose vendors led by professionals who understand both the legal and technical aspects of data security. At Proteus, that dual focus is integral to our approach.

Raising the Bar

At Proteus Discovery Group, our team operates with a clear principle: when we handle your data, we prioritize safeguarding your reputation. We have designed our operational processes with defensibility and security at the forefront, because that is what our clients demand and deserve.

Achieving SOC 2® Type 1 compliance was a critical step in demonstrating our internal standards. However, we are not going to stop there. We are actively working toward SOC 2® Type 2 compliance because it is what our clients deserve.

The Bottom Line: Security Builds Trust

In the legal profession, where reputation is earned over time and lost in an instant, law firms must prioritize vendor due diligence as a routine part of risk management by selecting providers for digital forensics, managed review, or hosted eDiscovery platforms who prioritize security, ask tough questions, and demand transparency.

At Proteus, we embrace these conversations because we view ourselves as true partners to our clients. Get in touch if you want to chat.