Insurance broker Gallagher has announced a new partnership with The Law Society of Northern Ireland to provide comprehensive cyber insurance and risk management services to legal firms across the region.
Building on its successful collaboration with the Law Society of England & Wales, Gallagher’s latest partnership will support approximately 3,000 lawyers and 450 practices in Northern Ireland.
Legal firms are prime targets for cyber-attacks due to the vast amounts of sensitive client information they handle. A recent report highlights cyber security as a top concern for the legal sector, driven by hybrid working trends, the proliferation of connected devices, and increasingly advanced tactics employed by cybercriminals.
As part of this initiative, members of The Law Society of Northern Ireland will gain access to risk management services designed to assess the security of their IT infrastructure. Reporting tools offering real-time updates on cyber threats will also be made available. Furthermore, participating law firms can utilize a range of training resources to enhance employee awareness of cyber risks.
With phishing identified as the leading cyber threat by 79% of law firms, targeted staff training aims to mitigate employee errors—a key factor in preventing cyber incidents.
The Law Society of Northern Ireland is the regulatory authority governing the education and professional conduct of solicitors to maintain the professional standards and quality of services offered to the public. The Law Society will serve as the access point for the cyber risk management service so that professionals have straightforward access to tools that can help protect them against risks.
The partnership will be led by Gallagher’s Northern Ireland team which is headquartered in Belfast and is part of the insurance broker’s extensive UK & Ireland office network of over 7,000 risk professionals. The cyber risk management services will be provided in collaboration with Coalition, which is a large provider of cyber insurance and has a rich understanding of the legal sector.
Conrad Smyth, Account Director for Gallagher in Northern Ireland, said: “We are delighted to partner with The Law Society of Northern Ireland to help their members assess and manage their cyber risks.
“Cyber-attacks have the potential to cause large scale disruption for businesses and law firms are particularly vulnerable, which is why it is crucial that they have the means of mitigating their risks. The cyber risk management services that we are providing enables hundreds of law firms across Northern Ireland to meet their regulatory requirements, ensure their systems meet the threshold for Cyber Essentials whilst protecting their business.”
Alison Grundle, Head of Member Services at the Law Society said: “For some time we have been aware that the legal sector, and law firms in particular, are being targeted by international cyber criminals. This partnership with Gallagher gives our members a practical managed service to bolster the advice and training we have been providing for some time. Gallagher and Coalition have an established reputation in this field and we are delighted that our members will now benefit from this.”