Why Is It Important To Maintain Security and Confidentiality in Legal Transcription

Documents pertaining to legal issues have to be treated with utmost security. As many legal firms now outsource their transcription tasks, legal transcription companies have to maintain the security and confidentiality of the data they are entrusted with. Any breach of trust could compromise the integrity of their clients and result in many problems both for the client and the legal professional. Legal transcription services are offered for, briefs, court proceedings and reports, general and legal correspondence, depositions, legal pleadings, claim forms, registration documents, bank and financial documents, agreements, and much more. All of these contain sensitive information, which if disclosed, could be misused and affect the outcome of the case. Disclosure can result in disastrous consequences for the legal professional. Therefore, outsourcing companies handling these documents take special measures to maintain the security and confidentiality in legal transcription. Security Measures Adopted By Legal Transcription Companies • All computers feature file encryption software with firewalls to protect interception by unauthorized parties; secure and password protected email facility and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) sites are used for the transfer of files between the transcription company and the client. Anti-virus software is updated every day. • All lockers used to store information are password protected. Unauthorized Internet use by transcribers is prohibited. • Security measures are in place to prevent theft of information stored on the computer systems. Backups are done on a regular basis to prevent loss of information. • All the external drivers and floppy drivers are also disabled on every computer to make sure confidentiality and security is maintained utmost. • Checks are in place to ensure that no information leaves the transcription department. • Home-based transcription service is not used • All employees are signed to an agreement on maintaining confidentiality and preventing disclosure of client information. • Technical evaluations are done periodically to make sure that all systems follow specified security measures. • Training is given to staffs on maintaining the security and confidentiality of all data and information. Established legal transcription outsourcing companies utilize 128-bit or 256-bit encryption for file transfer over the Internet. Secure FTP sites are also used to maintain confidentiality and security in legal transcription. All these systems ensure that client documents or data is not accessed without proper authorization, nor altered or destroyed. Only a reliable legal transcription company would have such measures in place to safeguard client data. To find the right firm, search online, shortlist a few service providers, and browse their websites. A reputable firm would list all the security measures it adopts to protect valuable client documents.