Law firm IT questions, answered

The help desk, Microsoft 365 and Modern Workplace implementation and management, device management with Intune, the 24/7 cybersecurity remediation SOC with Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft 365 backup with scheduled restore tests, monitoring, monthly reporting, and projects scoped in a quarterly roadmap. Hardware and Microsoft licences are extra, at the price we pay.

If a whole team can't work, we respond within 15 minutes. If one person can't work, within 30 minutes. Anything else is picked up the same business day. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:30pm Melbourne time, and security alerts are triaged 24/7.

We don't claim expertise in any particular practice management or document management product. We look after the devices, accounts, network and Microsoft 365 setup they depend on, and we deal with the vendor for you: we hold the account details and make the calls.

Yes. Every laptop and phone is managed with Intune and encrypted, sign-in uses enforced multi-factor authentication with Conditional Access, and a lost device can be wiped remotely. Defender for Endpoint on every managed device is watched by a 24/7 cybersecurity remediation SOC.

Enforced MFA and blocked legacy sign-in make stolen passwords much less useful, the security operations centre watches for suspicious sign-ins around the clock, and phishing simulation shows where staff need help. We also recommend a firm rule that any change to bank details is confirmed by phone on a number already on file. That is general guidance; your firm sets its own procedures.

Under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme in the Privacy Act 1988, covered organisations must notify affected people and the OAIC when a breach is likely to cause serious harm. Whether a breach is notifiable is your firm's decision. We tell you quickly and plainly what the security logs show, so you can decide with the facts.

Yes. Professional indemnity and cyber insurers commonly ask about MFA, backups, patching and monitoring. Our security baseline is mapped to the ACSC Essential Eight, so we can help you answer accurately. We won't claim that any setup makes you meet a particular rule.

Our help desk is staffed from 8:30am to 5:30pm Melbourne time, Monday to Friday. Security alerts are triaged 24/7, including weekends. There is no after-hours loading on the invoice.

No. Our agreement runs month to month and fits on six pages. If you decide to leave, a month's notice is enough, there is no exit fee, and the firm receives every password, document and configuration record we look after.

No. The changeover takes about three weeks and doesn't depend on your current provider's cooperation. It starts with a free, read-only assessment that changes nothing.

No. We don't run co-managed arrangements. When a firm's IT is split between us and an internal person, accountability gets blurred and the response to a threat, or to a chance to improve something, slows down. We take full ownership of the firm's environment. If a practice manager or staff member looks after IT now, we'd like to discuss the handover with you before anything changes.

Mostly firms of 10 to 150 staff. Under about five people, break-fix support usually costs less, and we will say so. We work onsite across greater Melbourne and remotely for firms in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and regional Victoria.