Hodgson Russ Leverages Intapp Wall Builder to Enhance Protection of Client Confidential Information

USA/Canada News

29
Apr
2014

Editor

Intapp, Inc., provider of the most-adopted information security and confidentiality management software for law firms, today announced that Hodgson Russ LLP, a full-service law firm with offices across the United States and Canada, has adopted Intapp Wall Builder to enhance its information security model and increase protection of sensitive client information.

"The combination of new HIPAA regulations, stronger client confidentiality mandates and repeated FBI warnings has dramatically increased the focus on law firm information security," said Kathy Krieger, Director of Information Technology, Hodgson Russ. "The rising volume of matters requiring heightened access controls makes it impractical for any firm to manage information security on an ad hoc, matter-by-matter basis. To simplify the process and reduce the potential for error, we wanted to systematize security of matters in practice groups that frequently handle sensitive data, like Trust & Estates and State & Local Tax practices. Intapp Wall Builder enables our firm to set members-only access by practice group, and to layer even tighter security controls based on matter type, such as those subject to HIPAA."

Today, a diverse and expanding set of drivers puts an increasingly bright spotlight on law firm information security. These include more stringent requirements from clients and insurers, regulatory rules like new HIPAA requirements for Protected Health Information, and revised rules of professional responsibility.

Intapp Wall Builder is a web-based information security and confidentiality management software application that enables organizations to centrally control and report on user access permissions across multiple applications, including document management, accounting, portal, CRM, time entry and records management systems. It also automates notifications to individuals subject to specific policies and tracks acknowledgments for compliance purposes.

Wall Builder is the most-adopted information security management software by law firms with 150 or more lawyers. According to an independent survey by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), 72% of large law firms using commercial software to enforce information access controls use Intapp Wall Builder.

"It can be a challenge for firms to strike the right balance between implementing prudent security and enabling efficient information access and sharing," added Krieger. "A blanket approach that locks down every folder, for every matter can significantly deter knowledge management and collaboration, which can impact client service. By allowing us to set access controls at the practice level, Wall Builder gives us the flexibility to strike a better, more nuanced balance between sharing and security. This enables lawyers and staff to maximize productivity and knowledge sharing, while freeing IT resources from having to manually manage complex and changing access controls across multiple matters and repositories."

"Hodgson Russ joins the ever increasing set of firms that are adopting Wall Builder to secure information by practice group, office or jurisdiction," said Pat Archbold, Head of Intapp's Risk Practice. "While firms used to leave firm documents open by default to internal lawyers and staff, the new standard of care we see across the industry is to classify data and apply layers of security to keep sensitive client information protected."