Clio

The ABA’s Law Practice Management section’s most recent Digital Edge podcast focuses on “Cloud Computering for Lawyers“. Hosted by Jim Calloway of the Oklahoma Bar and Sharon Nelson of Sensei Enterprises, and welcomes Erik Mazzone and Ben Schorr of Roland, Schorr & Tower as guests.

The podcasts focuses on the pros and cons of cloud computing, and pits Erik as the “Cloud Champion” against Ben as the “Cloud Curmudgeon”.

The guests begin by defining what exactly cloud computing is. Although it’s one of the hottest topics around in computing these days, it’s a poorly understood topic, and both Ben and Erik do a great job of giving some insight on what cloud computing really is.

Ben points out that cloud computing is simply a virtualized or abstracted computing service that is hosted remotely, over the internet, and points to Gmail and Clio as two examples of cloud computing.

Erik echos Ben’s point, but also reinforces the fact that cloud computing applications are generally accessed exclusively through the browser, which removes a great deal of complexity from the end-user’s perspective.

Ben, who writes an excellent blog that touches on his concerns around around cloud computing, point out what he sees as some of the key concerns around cloud computing:

• Lack of control. Ben feels that having complete control of his data requires that it be hosted on-premise, and by using cloud computing he’s giving up too much control of his data.
• Geography. Ben is concerned that data will be hosted or transferred to jurisdictions such as China
• Reliability. If the internet goes down, can he get to his data?

Erik does an excellent job of countering some of Ben’s concerns, and notes some of the biggest advantages of cloud computing:

• It allows lawyers to focus on practicing law rather than managing technology. Erik feels one of the strongest selling points for cloud computing is that it lets a lawyer focus on running a law firm rather than installing, configuring, upgrading, backing up, and securing software and hardware.
• Lower costs. Cloud tools eliminate the need for large up-front licensing fees and IT consulting costs typically associated with traditional server- and desktop-based software.
• Eliminates the upgrade treadmill. Upgrades are rolled out transparently and continuously, eliminating the time and expense typically associated with upgrading desktop software.

Erik and Ben agree on certain key “best practices” to look for in a cloud computing provider:

• Data export capabilities. To help minimize risk of data loss, look to the ability to perform offsite backups from a cloud computing provider.
• Data escrow. The hosts commend Clio’s innovative data escrow provision as another feature that helps minimize risk of data loss.
• Geographic redundancy. Make sure the provider is performing backups frequently and are backed up to multiple, geographically redundant locations.
• Encryption. Ensure communications with the cloud computing provider are encrypted.
• Terms of Service. Ensure to review the cloud computing provider’s Terms of Service and that the terms contained therein are agreeable.

The podcast does a great job of outlining overall concepts and the pros and cons relating to cloud computing. Download it and give it a listen. For more details on some of the aspects of security, data availability, terms of service and backup-related issues raised in the podcast, be sure to check out our own 10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Software-as-a-Service series.