Society issues cloud computing guidance
The Law Society of Scotland has issued new guidance on cloud
computing services following extensive consultation with law firms,
in-house counsel and cloud providers.
The advance of such technology has made third party outsourcing
of cloud services highly attractive to many businesses, including
law firms, bringing benefits such as cost reduction, increased
flexibility and in built support and maintenance without the need
for an in - house IT team.
There are potential drawbacks to using such technology, which
allows the user to store and process data and software via a third
party provider and access it over the internet rather than on a
firms internal computers or servers, and the guidance published
today, 16 January, is intended to provide advice on the benefits
and potential pitfalls of using cloud technology.
Paul Motion, convener of the Society's Technology Committee,
said: "This is a proactive step by the Law Society of Scotland and
we believe it is the first legal regulatory body to issue guidance
on cloud services. We hope the profession will appreciate the Law
Society of Scotland's leadership and that the guidance will be
useful to firms of all sizes. It's essential that any solicitors
considering using cloud computing do their homework to make sure
that it meets their needs, both in terms of being able to
provide the level of service they require and meeting all their
security requirements.
"Many solicitors probably already use some form of cloud
computing, for example Hotmail or Gmail and social networking
sites, but it is important they analyse how they intend to use the
system before choosing a supplier. Anyone considering using cloud
technology systems should think about the importance of access to
and security of client information to determine how stringent the
pre-contract diligence and service legal agreement should be -
think of your service level agreement as your insurance policy and
be sure it meets your specific needs and ensure that security
levels, equipment and connectivity are sufficient.
"Planning ahead is also key. A good cloud supplier will ask
about your plans for expansion to ensure that they can provide what
you need in the future. You should also establish which services
would be included in your subscription costs and those that are
additional - and make sure that you know about what back up will be
provided if there is any system failure."
Regulatory issues arise with third party data storage because,
with many cloud providers, your data could be stored anywhere in
the world at any time. The Data Protection Act 1998 prohibits the
transfer of personal data to countries outwith the European
Economic Area (EEA ) that do not offer adequate data protection so
the Society recommends that your cloud computing providers stores
your data within the EEA. This will ensure that data centres in
'high risk' countries are not subject to any local rules enforcing
disclosure to any national authorities without you r knowledge.
Likewise, there are obligations on solicitors to disclose
information to organisations like the Society itself, the SLCC and
others such as HMRC, lenders or law enforcers. Any system adopted
by solicitors should be accessible on demand to ensure that you are
compliant with such demands.
Mr Motion added: "There is huge potential for solicitors to use
cloud computing systems to enhance their business but they must be
aware of the issues involved to make sure they don't run into any
difficulties."
For more on cloud computing read Paul Motion and Meryl Skene in
this month's Journal. The guidance
has also been published on the law society website.
ENDS
16 JANUARY 2012
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please contact Val
McEwan on 0131 226 8884 or Suzy Powell on 0131 476 8115.
EMAIL: valeriemcewan@lawscot.org.uk
/ suzypowell@lawscot.org.uk
16 January 2012