2011 UK Law Firm Risk Management Survey Report Highlights Legal Industry Practices and Priorities

March 15, 2011 - PRLog -- IntApp, Inc., provider of the most-adopted information barrier and confidentiality management software product for law firms, today announced the publication of the 2011 Law Firm Risk Survey Report: UK Edition.

Sponsored by IntApp, the survey was produced by the Risk Roundtable Initiative, an industry association that organises events and programs for law firm risk stakeholders to foster dialogue, education and the advancement of best practices. Risk professionals from the 100 largest UK-based law firms were invited to participate.

The Law Firm Risk Survey focuses on firm risk management policies, practices and priorities. It examines specific issues including, information risk management, confidentiality enforcement, and compliance tracking and verification. The published survey report provides quantitative summaries of overall group response data, as well as samplings of individual responses to questions seeking free-form comments.

Selection of Key Findings of the Survey Report:

Top law firm risk concerns include confidentiality management, conflicts management and building a more risk-aware firm culture.
50% of firms have a dedicated risk management budget. Other firms draw funds from other departments' budgets.
75% of firms have a written risk register; most of these firms manage it manually using Excel spreadsheets.
Nearly all firms have software in place to enforce information barriers.
Most clients view risk management as a key priority or a way to differentiate themselves from their peers. Lawyers and staff view it primarily as a necessary but inconvenient pursuit.
Clients are increasingly raising concerns about the steps firms take to ensure the confidentiality of sensitive business information.
Most firms are concerned about at-risk lawyers who may be planning lateral departure, but only 35% of firms have any means of identifying these lawyers.
80% of firms perform internal audits to ensure policies are being followed.
40% of organisations can now provide audit trails and logs documenting compliance with confidentiality and information barrier requirements beyond the record of an initial screening memorandum.
"The survey highlights that confidentiality enforcement and compliance reporting remain important risk management priorities for the vast majority of law firms," said Pat Archbold, head of IntApp's Risk Practice Group. "Results such as these motivate the efforts here at IntApp to provide law firms with the technology they demand to manage risks tied to these issues."

More information about the 2011 Law Firm Risk Management Survey: UK Edition is available at www.riskroundtable.com.

About The Risk Roundtable Program
The Risk Roundtable program provides a forum for law firm and law department leaders to develop and share best practices and industry standards for managing risks driven by legal, ethical, client and regulatory requirements. The law firm Roundtable track brings together a mix of firm risk management and related professionals including loss prevention partners, general counsel, risk management partners, conflicts managers and IT leadership. The law department track fosters dialogue among corporate legal management and general counsel audiences. At regular regional events, Risk Roundtable participants discuss client requirements, evolving legal duties and industry trends.

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IntApp provides software that helps law firms increase revenue, manage risk, ensure client confidentiality and maximize lawyer productivity. With over 150 legal customers, IntApp has been embraced and endorsed as an industry standard.