Peer to Peer Magazine

8 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | SUMMER 2018 BEST PRACTICES Veing New Technology? Ask the Provider These Eight Questions Vetting New Technology? Ask the Provider These Eight Questions Use of the cloud now spans virtual work desks to practice management to accounting and beyond. But shiing away from an on-premise solution to a cloud- based one requires law firms to create new formulas for evaluating effectiveness, ease of installation, data protection and other factors. When conducting due diligence for new technologies such as the cloud, law firms must query potential partners about important considerations such as where data is hosted and the security parameters for both online and physical spaces. To ensure that your firm is working with the right provider, here are eight important questions that you should ask. Question #1: Where Do You Host Data? While your information may be in the cloud, the servers that host data are on the ground. This subjects your data to the laws and regulations of the country where the servers physically reside. Just ask Microso, which faced a U.S. Supreme Court challenge over this issue before the case was dismissed. U.S. v Microso, which the high court heard in February, began when the federal government obtained a warrant against the technology giant under the Stored Communications Act as part of a federal drug-trafficking investigation and sought data associated with a suspect's Microso Outlook email account. Microso responded by releasing information stored on U.S. servers but refused to turn over the content of the suspect's emails, which were stored in a data center in Ireland. Microso believed that the emails could only be obtained through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the U.S. and Ireland. The government argued that the U.S. warrant The technology that powers law firms has evolved rapidly over the past five years. More and more firms are moving from on-premise installations to more affordable cloud-based solutions. by Joe Kelly JOE KELLY Joe Kelly, founder and CEO of Legal Workspace, is a life-long technology entrepreneur. He is passionate about using technology and has helped hundreds of law firms shift from managing IT to practicing law. He launched Legal Workspace in 2008, after seeing first-hand the difficulties attorneys faced maintaining IT and integrating programs in law firms. Kelly regularly contributes to leading legal and technology publications, including the ABA's Law Practice Today, ILTA's flagship publication Peer to Peer, and Cybersecurity Law & Strategy from Law.

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