Overuse of email is bringing legal profession to its knees

The late Ray Tomlinson is widely known for inventing email as we know it today having sent the first electronic messages across different networks in 1971.

Despite being globally recognised as the most popular form of business communication, emails are synonymous with cybersecurity attacks leaving businesses, not least in the legal sector, struggling to find a solution.

Law firms are aware of the financial and reputational risks posed by email communications, such as phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks (MITMA). But do firms try to find a solution to cybercrime or seek an alternative means of communication with their clients?

In the conveyancing sector, one expert warned that human error invites cyber-attacks; the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has sought to negate this by recommending firms arrange training programmes to protect against cybercrime.

The threat of cybercrime is very real and firms should take a more hands-on approach. Unfortunately, some see investment in tackling cybersecurity an optional extra. Of the 10,000-plus firms in the UK, most are on the high street and do not have the resources of a typical Magic Circle firm.

Peter Wright, managing director of data privacy specialists Digital Law UK, believes firms are too dependent on email software: 'It is that overreliance on that technology that is bringing certain parts of the legal profession to its knees because it's being so easily exploited by cybercrime. Law firms are frightened of change but also they perceive a difficulty in their clients adapting to its use.'

As Tomlinson noted in a 2010 interview, 'email is not the right tool for all communication needs'. For an industry so reliant on email communication, solutions have been few and far between.

The Safe Move Scheme, which helps conveyancers to prevent home buyers falling victim to phishing through fraud prevention software, reported its first prevention last month.

Meanwhile, qualified family solicitor Lauren Riley has introduced The Link App, a mobile phone application that helps clients to interact better with their lawyers. Scottish firm Watermans was the first to offer the service but whether it can develop into a recognisable alternative to email remains to be seen.

With no market-leader taking up the unenviable task of revolutionising communication between law firm and client, Wright proposed some short-term measures to help firms.

'Firms need to know that they should not be sending or discussing things involving personal data by email. A quick interim solution would be to use an encryption package to encrypt attachments on email.

'A better solution is to have a veil room. Rather than sending attachments on email, you send the login and password details so your client has access to a secure online space where they can access documents, reports, etc,' he continues. 'They can also provide ID or other personal data rather than an email chain going back and forth.'

The revolutionary impact email has had on the business world is unquestionable. As cybercrime rises, however, the threat to legal professional privilege will grow with both firms and clients potentially set to lose out. A solution is needed, but is anybody willing to tackle the issue?