Industries / Law Firms
Law Firms
IT that treats attorney-client privilege the way a bar ethics committee expects — and that keeps you running the day a ransomware gang pivots to law-firm season.
The industry
Law firms carry a particular problem most MSPs don't take seriously enough: confidentiality is the product. Attorney-client privilege doesn't recover from a leak. The ABA Model Rules and state-bar ethics opinions keep raising the bar on cloud use, AI use, and data handling — while ransomware gangs have specifically targeted law firms because they know a Monday-morning lockout during a trial is a settlement event. Add wire-fraud exposure for closing and title practices and the IT stack stops being back-office and becomes a core practice risk.
Why Mako fits
We support Houston-metro firms across litigation, transactional, estate, family, and closing work. We speak the language of ABA ethics opinions, know the practice-management platforms (Clio, MyCase, NetDocuments, iManage, LawPay), and build the access controls, retention policies, and incident plans that hold up under bar scrutiny.
What breaks
Common problems for law firms businesses.
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Attorney-client privilege protection across email, cloud, endpoints, and mobile
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ABA Model Rule 1.6 and state-bar ethics guidance on cloud, AI, and third-party service providers
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Ransomware — law firms are a top-three targeted industry; matters get encrypted mid-trial
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Wire-fraud exposure (especially closing attorneys and title companies — six-figure losses on a single social-engineered transfer)
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Matter-specific access controls and conflict-of-interest walls (ethical walls / Chinese walls)
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Litigation hold and e-discovery readiness — preservation, legal-hold workflow, spoliation risk
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Document retention and archive policies tuned per practice area (tax, estate, litigation files each have different clocks)
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Secure client portals for document exchange, retainer intake, and e-signatures
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Mobile device management for attorneys working from court, the client's office, and home
Built for law firms
Services tuned to how you actually work.
Confidentiality-first infrastructure
MFA everywhere, conditional access, encrypted endpoints, access logging reviewed quarterly, and DLP rules tuned to catch privileged content heading to the wrong place.
ABA / state-bar ethics alignment
Controls documented to match the ethics guidance your bar has issued on cloud, AI, and third-party vendors. Evidence ready when a client or opposing counsel asks.
Ransomware prevention + response playbook
EDR / MXDR across every endpoint, immutable backups, tested restores, and a documented IR plan that accounts for active-matter disruption. Tabletop exercise once a year.
Wire-fraud controls for closing / title work
Out-of-band verification workflows, DMARC enforcement on your domain, DKIM/SPF alignment, and user training focused on the specific lures closing attorneys receive.
Matter-level access + ethical walls
Granular permissions tied to your practice-management platform (Clio, NetDocuments, iManage). New hires get access to the right matters; exits close access on day one.
Litigation hold + e-discovery support
Legal-hold workflow, preservation tooling, and technical evidence collection when a matter requires it. We coordinate with your e-discovery vendor rather than trying to replace them.
Comparison
Generic IT vs. Mako for law firms.
| What matters | Generic IT / DIY | Mako |
|---|---|---|
| Confidentiality controls | Default O365 / Google Workspace, shared admin account, no logging review | Ethics-aligned controls with MFA, DLP, access logging, and documented quarterly review |
| Ransomware readiness | 'We have backups' (untested, probably encrypted with the production data) | Immutable backups, tested restores, IR plan rehearsed yearly, insurer-aligned controls |
| Wire-fraud protection | User is the last line of defense; no out-of-band verification workflow | Domain hardening (DMARC/SPF/DKIM), verification workflow, targeted training, email quarantine review |
| Matter-specific access | Everyone can see everything on the shared drive | Practice-management-tied permissions, ethical-wall enforcement, audited access |
| Ethics rule alignment | Nobody's read the ethics opinions your bar has issued | Controls mapped to ABA Model Rules + your state-bar guidance, documented |
| Litigation hold | Scramble when the preservation letter arrives | Legal-hold workflow already in place, preservation triggers documented |
Boutique and mid-size Houston-metro firms across litigation, transactional, estate planning, family law, and closing / title practices.A named case study for this vertical is being finalized with a client and will be published once they’ve approved the write-up.
FAQ
Law Firms — common questions.
Do you support our practice-management platform?+
We work with most of the major ones across our client base — Clio, MyCase, NetDocuments, iManage, PracticePanther, CosmoLex, LawPay, Tabs3. Tell us specifically what you run and we'll confirm. If it's something we haven't seen, we'll say so and research it before the engagement starts.
Can you actually help us stay aligned with ABA / Texas bar ethics opinions?+
Yes — at least on the technical-control side. We translate the ethics guidance into specific configurations (cloud vendor selection, access controls, DLP rules, AI use policy) and document the evidence. Your ethics and conflicts review stays with your partners and risk counsel.
What's the response if we get hit with ransomware during a trial?+
That's exactly the scenario the IR plan is built for. Containment, evidence preservation, immutable-backup restore, client and court notification timing, and coordination with your cyber-insurance carrier. We plan for it up front so it's a contained incident, not a trial-continuance event.
Do you handle wire-fraud protection for closing / title practices?+
Yes — that's one of the highest-risk buckets we work on. Out-of-band verification workflow, domain hardening (DMARC enforcement, SPF, DKIM alignment), user training tuned to the specific lures closing attorneys get, and email quarantine review. Most incidents we've seen are preventable with the right workflow in place.
We're a boutique firm — is Mako overkill?+
Depends on your matter mix. A 4-attorney firm handling a $20M estate has essentially the same confidentiality and ransomware exposure as a 40-attorney shop. If your clients include Fortune 500 or regulated industries, their security-questionnaire answers will push you toward our end of the spectrum anyway. Talk to us and we'll be honest about fit.
Relevant services
What law firms clients most often pair with.
Everything below is live on the site today — pick the one closest to what you’re trying to solve and start there.
Cybersecurity & Compliance
Ransomware defense, wire-fraud controls for closing practices, and ABA-ethics-aligned confidentiality controls.
Learn more →
AI Security & Governance
Guardrails that keep privileged matter content out of public AI models, with state-bar ethics guidance baked into policy.
Learn more →
Cyber Insurance Questionnaire Support
Accurate answers on the technical sections — critical for firms whose cyber carrier or client contracts now require documented controls.
Learn more →
Service areas
Where we support law firms clients.
Houston · The Woodlands · Conroe · Spring · Montgomery · Downtown Houston · Galleria · Kingwood and surrounding Houston metro areas.
Let’s talk law firms.
Twenty minutes with a real person. No pressure, no pitch deck.