Taming the in-house IT guru

The VW emissions ?scandal has kept us ?all entertained and ?will doubtless lead to some profitable litigation.

When Volkswagen’s US operations chief, Michael Horn, was questioned about what ?had happened, he denied all knowledge and blamed the fiasco on ‘a couple of software engineers’.

On the face of it that sounded crazy. Yet on reflection I began ?to realise that big decisions are increasingly made by those with an ability to work with and have an understanding of software. This is a specialist knowledge that not every solicitor possesses.

As an example, I recently returned from holiday. I was ?told some minor changes would be made to my computer in my absence. In fact, it was entirely rebuilt. A new version of Windows was installed and ?I had to re-log-in to a host of applications. This was all done ?by my in-house IT man.

We have also been improving the security systems on our computers, servers, and cloud-based software. Again, this is dealt with by an IT man, under the control of a managing partner, but it begs the question: how much does a lawyer really understand IT?

Advances in technology ?have made it nigh on impossible for those without a degree in computer science to keep ?up to date.

True, we all, to a certain ?extent, want the same thing ?(i.e. a fast system that is bullet proof and impossible to hack). But achieving that can take many different manifestations. The number one risk to firms of solicitors in the years to come will be cyber-crime.

While in the past we worried about negligence actions, the cost of professional indemnity renewals, and the very real challenges thrown up from human resources, the future is going to be a battle with villains hacking into our systems and stealing money from our clients’ accounts.

Important decisions will ?have to be made by managing partners and directors about the sort of computer systems they will be investing in. Will they make the correct decisions? Will they choose the correct options?

Unless you have the best advice from IT people you can trust, you may make the wrong decision.

The consequences of getting?it wrong are quite disastrous. Substantial monies iPhoned ?out of client accounts might not necessarily be replaced if the bank  feels the solicitor was ?partly at fault. Having to replace £500,000 out of your own pocket is probably enough to cause most firms very severe difficulties.

The secret is to have a collaborative relationship with your IT team. Understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. Challenge them. Do not allow them simply to buy a piece of software or hardware unless you fully understand the rationale for doing so. Don’t ?put in new software unless you are 100 per cent sure of why it ?is there.

Don’t be like the CEO of VW, who simply allowed a couple of software engineers to create a system which has now caused them the most severe of problems.

Russell Conway is senior partner at Oliver Fisher ?@Russboy11 ?www.oliverfisher.co.uk