Industry Focus — Legal and Financial
Your clients trust you with their most sensitive information. We help you protect it.
Legal and financial firms are high-value targets. Client data, financial records, privileged communications — all of it is attractive to attackers, and all of it is subject to regulatory obligations that are growing more complex every year.
What legal and financial firms are dealing with
State privacy laws (US)
The US privacy landscape is no longer just CCPA. Virginia (CDPA), Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, and other states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws. New York’s SHIELD Act has been in force since 2020. If your firm operates across multiple states — or serves clients in states with active privacy regulators — your obligations are multi-layered and growing.
PCI-DSS v4.0
PCI-DSS v4.0 went into effect in April 2024. If your firm processes, stores, or transmits cardholder data — even indirectly — PCI-DSS applies. Version 4.0 introduces new requirements around authentication, monitoring, and targeted risk analysis.
GLB Act — Gramm-Leach-Bliley
The FTC’s updated Safeguards Rule (effective June 2023) requires financial institutions to maintain a formal, written information security program — including a qualified individual designated to oversee it.
Bar and regulatory obligations
Attorneys have professional obligations around client data security under the rules of professional conduct. A breach involving client records carries both regulatory and disciplinary risk.
Where the gaps usually are
- No formal written information security program — required under GLB Safeguards
- PCI scope not defined — many firms don’t know what’s in scope
- Multi-state data flows without a privacy mapping exercise
- M365 or Google Workspace not configured for data governance — no DLP, no retention policies, no audit logging
- Privileged client communications accessible via shared credentials or unmanaged devices
- No incident response plan — and no clarity on breach notification timelines under applicable state laws
How Klaravex addresses it
Security Posture Assessment
A structured review of your current security posture — technical controls, access management, platform configuration, and policy documentation — mapped against your applicable regulatory context.
M365, Google Workspace, and AWS Hardening
Conditional access, MFA enforcement, DLP policies tuned for sensitive data, email encryption, audit log retention, and SharePoint/OneDrive access controls in M365. AWS IAM policy review, S3 access controls, CloudTrail configuration, and GuardDuty deployment for firms with cloud infrastructure.
Incident Response Readiness
Written IR plan, breach notification procedure aligned to applicable state laws, and tabletop exercise facilitation. When an incident happens, you know exactly what to do and who to call.
Policy and Program Documentation
Written information security program, acceptable use policy, data classification policy, and workforce training — documented to satisfy GLB Safeguards and state law requirements. Recommended: Assurance for monitoring, M365 hardening, and IR readiness. Directive for GLB Safeguards from scratch, multi-state privacy exposure, or PCI-DSS scope remediation.
Content on this page is informational. It does not constitute legal advice. Privacy law obligations vary by jurisdiction, entity type, and specific facts. Multi-state data governance analysis requires qualified legal counsel. PCI-DSS scope assessment does not guarantee PCI compliance — formal validation requires a Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) where applicable. Consult qualified legal counsel for compliance determinations.
FAQ
Do you work with solo practitioners and small law firms?
Yes. Our Foundation and Assurance tiers are designed for small and mid-sized firms without dedicated IT or security staff.
We use a document management system like Clio or NetDocuments. Does that affect scope?
Yes — your DMS is part of your data security scope. We assess how it integrates with M365 and where data flows across your environment. Specific DMS hardening is evaluated per engagement.
Our firm has a managed IT provider already. Can Klaravex provide security advisory on top of that?
Yes. We can layer security advisory and monitoring on top of an existing managed IT arrangement. We define scope carefully at the engagement level to avoid duplication.
Ready to assess your current exposure?