Legal Industry Sees Increased Demand for Secure Online Document Solutions

VISTA, CA, November 03, 2010

Many firms in the legal industry have begun incorporating secure platforms and communication tools to send private information due to increased attacks from hackers online. Just two weeks ago, UK law firm ASC: Law had their email database hacked and leaked onto the web. They are now facing possible law suits. Although no laws requiring such systems yet exist, a trend similar to the medical industry's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is expected.

DataCert Inc., a Texas-based provider of e-documents and software services to the legal industry, has created a software package called Passport that allows for secure communication both internally and externally for legal firms. The system, just adopted by UK-based systems support company Carillion, is targeted towards larger firms that need customizable communication solutions that can integrate into a company's email client, faxing systems, and other existing electronic tools. "The system offers unparalleled flexibility and features such as Outlook integration, making the management and sharing of information, internally and with outside counsel, easier and more efficient," says Richard Tapp, general counsel at Carillion.

For smaller law firms looking for secure e-document solutions, the issue is far less complex - and can be solved easily and at a low cost through a legal web design service. For emails, many web-service companies offer Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates to be purchased. These certificates are usually available for between $50-$100 plus a small monthly hosting fee, and will use a minimum of 128-bit encryption when transmitting emails over a server, providing far more protection than with a basic email provider. This service is now mandatory in the medical field for emails containing patient information, due to HIPPA compliance laws.

San Diego-based web and marketing firm Medical Web Experts, an affiliate of New Wave Enterprises, has started issuing these certificates to physician clients. The company's legal affiliate, Legal Web Experts, expects to begin doing the same with their attorney clients in their legal website design services. "The SSL certificate is the easiest and most affordable solution to use right now. We have switched over many of our physicians to these emails, and foresee doing so in the near future with legal clients. It isn't mandatory in the legal field yet, but this small fee provides assurance to firms that important information will not be intercepted while transmitted on the web," says John Deutsch, CEO of New Wave Enterprises.

"Having valuable information transmitted insecurely just isn't worth it. If a confidential document gets intercepted or corrupted it can cause major problems, both legal and personal. For about $20 a month, you can prevent that from happening," says Deutsch. While many larger firms will require complex secure data exchange programs, for smaller firms there is now a solution that is affordable and easily adoptable.

About Legal Web Experts:
Legal Web Experts is a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Wave Enterprises, a web design and marketing firm founded in 2003. They specialize in legal web development and online solutions for law and accounting firms. Their affiliate Medical Web Experts specializes in websites and EMR integration solutions for physicians.

About DataCert:
Founded in 1998, DataCert developed one of the first systems for e-billing and invoicing specifically for the legal industry. Since then DataCert has evolved and begin to develop a suite of tools for legal clients to use to analyze more thoroughly billing and invoice services.

For more detailed information about SSL certificates visit http://www.verisign.com/ssl/ssl-information-center/index.html.

Medical Web Experts, a wholly owned subsidiary of New Wave Enterprises LLC, are providers of web solutions for the health industry. Medical Web Experts specializes in website design, graphic design, Internet marketing and patient portal solutions. For further information, please visit www.medicalwebexperts.com or call (866) 932-9944.