Cybersecurity for Law Firms ABA 1.1 & 1.6. Trust Account BEC.
Matter Files Secured. Privilege Protected.

The Gradius law firm cybersecurity program includes: ABA Rules 1.1 and 1.6 compliance program documentation (written security policies, risk assessment, incident response procedures, annual review); trust account BEC and wire fraud defense (DMARC/DKIM/SPF at reject policy, advanced email security with impersonation detection tuned to legal transaction patterns, MFA on all email and financial system access); matter file access controls and endpoint encryption; data loss prevention for client file exfiltration monitoring; law firm ransomware defense (EDR, network segmentation, immutable backup for document repositories); email security with link sandboxing and attachment analysis; breach notification coordination for NJ/NY/CT state laws, state bar obligations, and cyber insurance; and 24/7 SOC monitoring. All firms, all practice areas, flat-rate per user.

Yes — explicitly. ABA Model Rule 1.1 was amended to include technology competence, and ABA Formal Opinion 477R clarified that this includes cybersecurity. Rule 1.6 requires reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized disclosure of client information. The ABA has issued formal guidance stating that lawyers must understand the cybersecurity risks of the technology they use. State bars in NJ, NY, and CT have issued guidance and ethics opinions consistent with these obligations. Bar disciplinary proceedings have cited inadequate firm cybersecurity as a factor in professional responsibility cases. For attorneys in regulated practices — financial services law, healthcare law, government contracting — there may be additional cybersecurity requirements from the client's regulatory environment that flow to the law firm through engagement agreements. Cybersecurity is a professional ethics obligation for attorneys — not optional and not subject to "we didn't know."

Extremely serious — and specifically documented. The FBI's IC3 consistently identifies legal transactions as a priority BEC target, with real estate closings and settlements the most targeted transaction types. For NJ, NY & CT law firms handling real estate transactions, litigation settlements, M&A closings, or estate distributions — all involving wire transfers from client trust accounts — the risk is not hypothetical. A single successful trust account BEC attack can redirect a wire transfer of six figures or more. Beyond the financial loss, trust account fraud triggers immediate professional responsibility consequences under state bar trust accounting rules, potential bar disciplinary proceedings, and client notification obligations. ABA formal opinions have specifically addressed attorney obligations related to wire transfer fraud prevention.

A law firm data breach triggers consequences across multiple dimensions. Legal: NJ, NY, and CT data breach notification laws require notifying affected individuals and the state AG when personal information is compromised — law firm client databases typically contain personal information. Regulatory: if the compromised data includes information from regulated industries (healthcare, financial services), additional regulatory breach notifications may be required. Professional: state bar ethics rules may require notification to affected clients. Cyber insurance: the carrier requires timely notification and documentation of the incident. Reputational: clients whose confidences were exposed — including privileged communications — face permanent damage to the trust that defines the attorney-client relationship. Law firm data breaches are also increasingly reported publicly through state AG notifications and data breach tracking publications, creating the kind of visibility that corporate clients evaluate when selecting or retaining outside counsel.

Core technical controls — EDR deployment, email security with DMARC, MFA enforcement, and immutable backup — are typically deployed within 1–2 weeks. Matter file access control implementation and tuning is completed within 2–4 weeks depending on the complexity of the firm's document management environment. ABA compliance documentation — written policies, risk assessment, incident response procedures — is completed within 30–60 days. For firms with pressing compliance timelines — an approaching state bar examination, a client security questionnaire, a cyber insurance renewal that requires demonstrated controls — Gradius prioritizes the assessment and documentation on an accelerated schedule. Full program operational within 30–60 days for most NJ, NY & CT law firms.

No long-term lock-ins. We offer month-to-month and annual agreements. Law firms stay with Gradius because the ABA compliance program is maintained, trust account defenses are in place, matter files are secured, and cybersecurity stops being a source of professional responsibility risk for the attorneys who depend on the firm's reputation. We earn the renewal every month through performance — which is the same standard law firms hold themselves to with their own clients.