Gallagher enters partnership with The Law Society of Northern Ireland to provide members with cyber risk management solutions

Insurance broker Gallagher has entered a partnership with The Law Society of Northern to provide cyber insurance and risk management services to legal firms in Northern Ireland.

Following the successful partnership with the Law Society of England & Wales, Gallagher has partnered with the Law Society of Northern Ireland and will see the firm provide cyber insurance and risk management services to circa 3,000 lawyers and 450 practices in Northern Ireland.

Due to the large volumes of data and information they hold on clients, legal firms are at high risk of a cyber-attack. A recent report revealed that cyber security is one of the top concerns for law firms¹ , due to a range of factors including hybrid working, more frequent use of connected devices and increasingly sophisticated tactics used by cyber criminals.

Members of The Law Society of Northern Ireland will be provided with risk management services to help them assess the security of their IT systems and reporting tools which will provide live cyber threat updates. In addition, law firms will be able to access a range of training materials on cyber security to help create employee awareness of cyber risks in their business. With 79% of law firms saying that the biggest cyber threat is phishing² , having staff training in place helps businesses avoid common employee errors that can often lead to 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."