Summer IT Risks for Law Firms: What You Need to Know Before Vacations Begin

Protect your law firm this summer. Learn how to secure remote access, automate tasks and prevent cyber threats while your team is out of the office.

Summer Fridays might mean shorter hours, lighter caseloads and long weekends—but they can also introduce new risks to your firm’s technology and security posture. With team members working remotely, taking time off and/or having gaps in coverage, cybersecurity and workflow continuity can create unexpected (and potentially severe) situations for exposure to company and client data.

Whether you’re a solo practitioner, a growing legal team or a midsize firm, it’s important to prepare your systems—and your staff—before the summer shift sets in. Here’s what you and your teams need to know.

1. Vacation brain is real—Automate IT solutions smartly.

When staff step out of the office, key IT tasks can get delayed or overlooked. It’s important to automate wherever possible: backups, software patching, MFA prompts (multi-factor authentication) and log monitoring should all be automated. Every organization may handle things a bit differently, here are a few suggestions to make automation a critical asset to your team and your business.

• Solo/Small firms benefit from automating file backups and software updates to avoid manual oversight when juggling cases alone.

• Growing firms can use centralized tools to apply updates across multiple users or devices, minimizing human error during rotations.

• Midsize firms often integrate full-scale monitoring and automated alerts for issues like failed backups or unusual login attempts.

How Focus IT Helps: We work with firms to set up automation for essential maintenance, freeing up your team and reducing the chance of missed tasks during summer PTO. We can also assist in helping create a standard cybersecurity policy and checklist, as well as provide real-world phishing simulations – more on that below.

2. Remote work? Could mean higher IT risk for law firms.

When attorneys and staff start logging in from beach houses and rental properties, airport lounges or home offices, the potential risk to your business’ IT environment grows exponentially. If your team is still emailing client docs from Gmail on hotel Wi-Fi, it’s time to schedule a review. A recent article highlighting scams via airport wi-fi and USB charging stations hits at the heart of what cybersecurity awareness is all about. Some things your practice should try to do immediately (if not already in use):

• Individuals should enforce device encryption and use secure cloud access with two-factor authentication with tools like Microsoft or Google Authenticator.

• Small & Growing Teams should have clear remote work policies in place and monitor who’s accessing what—and from where.

• Midsize Firms may benefit from a Zero Trust architecture, where every user and device must be verified every time, regardless of location.

What You Can Do Today: Require VPN usage, limit access based on role and secure any mobile devices used for work communications. Focus IT helps implement secure remote access with scalable options for all firm sizes.

3. Summer is prime time for fishing AND phishing

While many love to get out on the water for some deep-sea fishing or fun in the sun, phishing can happen anywhere and cause serious long-term damage. From social media to email, text messages and more, cybercriminals know your firm might be more relaxed during the summer—and they will do their best to take advantage. Impersonation attempts, fake invoice scams and phishing emails often spike when offices are short-staffed.

• Smaller firms can reduce exposure by using real-time email filtering and educating staff on red flags.

• Growing firms should test teams with phishing simulations and track responsiveness over time.

• Midsize firms may want anomaly detection systems that flag unexpected behavior like international logins or unusual file access.

Focus IT Insight: We are seeing an uptick in phishing attempts as we move closer to the summer months. A layered approach—including user training and smart filtering—is key to staying ahead and making sure cybersecurity awareness is top of mind.

4. What’s your backup plan (literally and operationally)?

When a server crashes, a partner deletes a critical document or a suspicious login gets flagged—how fast can your firm bounce back? It’s not just about having backups. It’s about having the right systems, visibility and support in place to act quickly when something goes wrong—whether your team is online or out enjoying a long weekend.

• One-person firms should know where their backups are stored, how to restore files, and who to call in an emergency.

• Growing teams need an on-call plan for internal support and escalation protocols for major incidents.

• Midsize firms often build in co-managed IT support to avoid single points of failure, especially during peak vacation weeks.

Don’t Wait: We provide proactive systems monitoring, automate backups and comprehensive support and coverage—so even if your team’s out of the office, your infrastructure isn’t left unattended.

5. Use the summer lull strategically

While the pace of legal work may ease up during the summer, this slower season is the perfect time to get ahead on the tech projects that usually get pushed aside during busier months.

Rather than waiting for something to break—or scrambling during the fall rush—use this quieter window to strengthen your systems, clean up inefficiencies and lay the groundwork for smoother operations the rest of the year.

Solo Law Firms:

• Review your software licenses—are you paying for more than you need?

• Refresh outdated hardware or consolidate your tools for simplicity.

• Switch to secure cloud storage to eliminate reliance on local drives or outdated apps.

Growing Teams:

• Schedule a system-wide security audit—check user permissions, update passwords and eliminate redundant logins.

• Use downtime to document internal processes like onboarding, file storage or how to handle suspicious emails.

• Consider a cybersecurity awareness training or refresh, a little review of policies and process can make a major difference later.

Midsize Firms:

• Use this time for deeper infrastructure upgrades or cloud migrations—projects that typically require more coordination.

• Test your disaster recovery plan: simulate a scenario and measure how quickly you could bounce back should the need arise.

• Evaluate your vendors for all aspects of your technology, from the hardware to cloud services. Are there redundant tools, overlapping services or gaps in coverage?

Pro Tip: Many Focus IT clients schedule upgrades during the summer and other slow times to avoid business disruption later in the year.

Final thoughts: Lighter schedules, not lighter security

Summer Fridays and vacation brain should bring peace of mind—not extra risk. With thoughtful, strategic planning, simulations and the right IT practices, your firm can stay secure, efficient and responsive all season long (and throughout the year).

Whether you're a small team or a firm of 100+, Focus IT works behind the scenes to minimize IT risk for law firms and keep your systems strong—so you can enjoy your time away from the office with confidence.

June 17th we launch our Summer Cybersecurity series, where we’ll highlight a cybersecurity checklist, Zero-Trust email security, using public wi-fi, important travel tips, top cloud solutions and more. Follow us on social media for new tips on keeping your office and home technologies safe and secure.

Need help tightening up your systems, educating your staff or getting new protocols in place before summer is in full swing? Let’s talk!