Information Security is an increasingly important topic. It is also a subject matter where relatively few lawyers have much background or training. Lawyers do have great experience learning from the experts where all types of subject matters are concerned. My friends and colleagues, Sharon Nelson, David Ries and John Simek are experts in this field. The original edition of Locked Down: Information Security for Lawyers was a significant publication when it first came out out in 2013. There have been many developments since then (especially on the LockedDown2nd-cransomware front) and so we welcome the new edition Locked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers, 2nd edition. I predict you will find this a readable and useful book, even if you do not have an IT background.

So I also welcome a short guest review of Locked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers, 2nd edition by Molly Peacock, an attorney at Rees Broome, PC (June 16, 2016)

With great power comes great responsibility. We lawyers are required to keep certain communications and information a secret from non-clients. We need to understand, given our position of trust, that the convenience and speed of e-mail, computers, mobile devices, and the Internet come with a price. The price is our ongoing responsibility to take prudent steps to safeguard our clients’ information and communications.

Prudence, ethics, reasonableness and the law require us to have an increasing level of competence about, among other things, cybersecurity: e-mail security, backing up of digital files, secure disposal of saved information and how to reduce the risks inherent with the increasing connectivity of computers and devices. 

The second edition of Locked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers by Sharon Nelson, David Ries, and John Simek, gives lawyers clear guidance about the protection of law firm data and a wealth of helpful resources. In addition to its comprehensiveness, the brilliance of Locked Down is how manageably it provides technical information essential for lawyers. The authors’ writing style is readable and even enjoyable. You may have to see it with your own eyes to believe how a book about technological advances, best practices, and security must-dos (and don’ts) for lawyers in the digital age can be fun to read. 

Fun aside, the content is crucial for serious practitioners who care about their clients, their law practice, and complying with the ABA and states’ ethical requirements of competence with technology. Locked Down is ideally read cover to cover. However, it is also a reference for topics pertinent to solo, small, medium, large firms about prudent and necessary practices. The light that Locked Down shines on important technical topics (safe browsing, passwords, encryption, mobile devices, and many more), is proffered in a practical, readable way. Clearly, its authors care deeply about lawyers, their clients, and the ever evolving interplay between the practice of law and the advance of technology. Thank you to authors Nelson, Ries and Simek for your invaluable guidance!

Molly Peacock

Counsel, Rees Broome, PC