Legal Rights Partnership (LRP) is a specialist immigration law practice that provides expert legal advice on all aspects of UK immigration, nationality, asylum and human rights law.
Based in Reading they are one of very few specialist immigration law solicitors’ practices outside London supporting both individual and business immigration needs.
In 2010, the practise opened its new office in Reading and required a complete IT infrastructure solution to support the business and ensure it met the guidelines laid down by the Solicitors Regulation Agency (SRA).
Solange de Carvalho, Partner at Legal Rights Partnership commented
“Of course it is essential for us to have a robust IT system within the practise; as with most businesses, everything from email, to accounts and record keeping is dependent on our IT. However, we also have to meet the growing requirements of the SRA in terms of data protection; ensuring the security of our client data is critical. We are now responsible for self-reporting to the SRA any potential breaches of our security from the outside, requiring both a robust IT security system and an ability to spot any infringements. In addition we also need a robust back-up and recovery system for business continuity.”
Connexion were chosen to first advise and then implement the initial infrastructure. Of particular importance was the ongoing support, the maintenance of their email and the protection of all their data.
Solange added, “We chose Connexion because they clearly understood the challenges we faced in relation to SRA regulations, in particular data security. They were able to guide us through the available options in a way we could understand and they gave us the confidence that we were installing a cost effective and secure solution”
Remote working was also a key requirement with all fee earners needing the facility to work remotely whilst maintaining appropriate levels of security to satisfy SRA regulations.
Solange added, “Email has become a very critical tool and central to our ability to communicate with the court, barristers and clients. We therefore needed to ensure we had a well-managed and secure private email service to ensure the continuity of this line of communication.”
Having successfully implemented the IT infrastructure, Connexion have supported the practise through their managed service. Via continuous remote monitoring and other proactive managed services Connexion ensure that their email is always optimised and their data fully protected.
The managed service is delivered through a number of integrated services. These include:
- a help desk providing a responsive support service
- a continually manned remote monitoring system that looks to spot problems early to prevent unexpected systems failure
- a virtual CIO that helps plan and develop the IT service as well as provide regular reports and recommendations for improvements to the partner management team.
“Connexion’s managed service works in the background ensuring our system is available and secure. So for instance, if we forget to do a daily backup, they call us to remind us to do one. They also run a weekly back-up remotely to provide additional cover.”
“In the last two and half years we have never had a problem. In comparison with all the other work challenges that we face day to day, we have never had to worry about our IT. We can therefore dedicate all our time and effort on helping our clients.”
As the practise expands the partners are looking to expand and upgrade their IT capability further and Connexion are helping them with both potential infrastructure upgrade considerations taking into account the needs of specialist legal systems such as Quill.
