Latest news – Young lawyer in pro bono honour; Firms neglect cybersecurity training; Substantial tech spending for UK firms

Maddocks lawyer wins pro bono gong

Melbourne lawyer Tamsin Webster, 32, has won the 2018 Australian Young Lawyer Award for her continuous and outstanding contribution to the legal profession and the community through pro bono work. Webster joined Maddocks as a graduate in 2011 and immediately immersed herself in the pro bono and volunteering opportunities offered by the firm. She is currently a Senior Associate in the Employment, Safety & People team. From 2012, Webster has been involved in an impressive range of pro bono matters, including running a number of judicial review cases for asylum-seeker clients in the Federal Circuit Court and Federal Court. She has volunteered at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, coordinated the Refugee Legal program at Maddocks, and made a significant contribution to the work of the Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre. “Tamsin’s desire to apply her considerable skills to benefit those who most need them is clear from her impressive pro bono record,” says Law Council of Australia President Morry Bailes. “Her extensive pro bono efforts are made all the more impressive through the fact that she has simultaneously been running a full-time practice in Maddocks’ Employment, Safety and People team. Those who have had the benefit of her efforts speak highly of her and with genuine affection. The judging panel was also impressed by the way she has played a pivotal mentoring and leadership role in the Maddocks pro bono program. She has organised training for young lawyers, and represented her firm in its relationship with Refugee Legal and Justice Connect. We understand Tamsin’s enthusiasm for pro bono work is infectious and she is a wonderful mentor.”

Cybersecurity training put on the backburner

One in three law firms in Australia are not investing in cybersecurity training, according to a study from GlobalX and the Australian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA). The research also reveals that only most firms are not confident of managing a cyberattack. “Lawyers and conveyancers host a vast amount of personally identifiable information, which heightens their risk of cyberattacks in an increasingly digitised world,” says GlobalX CEO Peter Maloney. “The research shows 79 per cent of legal professionals are concerned about cybersecurity, but only 21 per cent are confident that their firm can handle a cyberattack.” GlobalX believes obsolete and new technology are the causes of breaches. This year, there has been a lot of cybersecurity breaches involving a property transaction whereby a consumer has lost the funds to settle a property transaction. “Legal firms cannot simply rely on a software vendor,” Maloney says. “They must wrap their technology investments in advanced proactive and reactive monitoring software and extensive staff training. It is clear that the lack of investment in regular cybersecurity training and slow adoption of modern technology is leaving an open door for cyber criminals.”

UK law firms tip ‘substantial’ tech investments

In the United Kingdom, BDO’s latest Law Firm Leaders Survey suggests that three quarters of all law firms are expecting to make “substantial” investments in technology in the next five to 10 years. This view comes despite the fact that many leaders within firms are unsure about how to properly distribute technology throughout the business. Nine-five per cent of managing partners and senior partners claimed that their investment in tech would rise, with most saying spending levels would be significant. ‘Information and document management’ was regarded as the area of the business that would change the most by the application of new technologies, according to the survey. This was followed by ‘delivery of client services’ and ‘client communication’. In terms of investment, cybersecurity was listed as the number one investment area, followed closely by IT infrastructure, the report said. A BDO Australia partner commented that the UK results would match the sentiment of Australian firms.