Law Firms & Accounting Firms
Your clients trust you with their most confidential information. Your regulators hold you to strict data protection and security standards. Your cyber liability insurer is asking questions you are not prepared to answer. Teremark provides the technology and security leadership to protect what your clients have entrusted to you.
The Risk That Professional Services Firms Cannot Ignore
Law firms and accounting firms occupy a unique and dangerous position in the cybersecurity threat landscape. You are the custodians of your clients’ most sensitive information — privileged communications, financial records, transaction documents, and personal data that criminal organizations and state actors actively seek. You are also, in most cases, operating without the technology and security leadership that the sophistication of that threat requires.
The ABA’s 2023 Legal Technology Survey found that 29% of responding law firms had experienced a security breach at some point – a number that understates the true exposure because most breaches in professional services firms go undetected for months. Accounting firms subject to the FTC Safeguards Rule are now legally required to designate a qualified individual responsible for overseeing their information security program – a role that functions as a CISO, regardless of what you call it.
The Regulatory Baseline for Accounting Firms
The FTC Safeguards Rule (updated November 2023, 16 CFR Part 314) requires non-bank financial institutions, including accounting firms and tax preparers that handle client financial information, to designate a ‘qualified individual’ responsible for overseeing a comprehensive information security program. This individual must report to your board at least annually on the status of the program. The FTC actively enforces this rule, and firms that do not comply face civil penalties. Teremark’s fractional CISO service fulfills this obligation directly. (Source: FTC, 16 CFR Part 314)
Why Teremark CIO
Our consultants have built and led enterprise-grade information security programs at Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, and government-adjacent organizations – the very same types of sophisticated clients that your firm serves. Because we’ve designed and managed the programs that successfully pass these rigorous security reviews, we understand exactly what large clients demand in their vendor questionnaires and how to help you meet those expectations with confidence.
We are 100% vendor-agnostic. We do not sell, implement, or manage technology products. When we recommend a security platform, a document management system, or a collaboration tool, it is because it is the right choice for your firm’s risk profile and your clients’ expectations, not because of a vendor relationship.
What Makes Teremark Different
Confidentiality as a Core Operating Principle
We work inside the attorney-client relationship, the accountant-client relationship, and the structures of professional privilege. We understand the unique confidentiality obligations of professional service firms and design security programs that protect, rather than compromise, those obligations.
Client-facing Security Credibility
When a Fortune 500 client or a financial institution sends your firm a vendor security questionnaire, a Teremark-led security program means you can answer it completely and credibly. We build programs designed to satisfy the scrutiny of your most demanding clients.
FTC Safeguards Rule Compliance
For accounting firms subject to the rule, our fractional CISO service directly fulfills the 'qualified individual' requirement, including the annual board reporting obligation.
ABA Ethics Compliance
For law firms, we design information security programs that satisfy ABA Model Rule 1.6 obligations on the reasonable measures required to prevent unauthorized disclosure of client information, and that align with state bar guidance on technology competence.
Malpractice and Cyber Insurance Alignment
We work alongside your malpractice and cyber liability insurers to ensure your security program satisfies their requirements and supports your coverage - not just at renewal, but when you need to file a claim.
Services Summary
CISO Services
Information Security Program - Design & Implementation
Design, build, and document a comprehensive information security program appropriate for a professional services firm handling privileged and confidential client data. Your program will satisfy ABA Model Rule 1.6 and applicable state bar guidance for law firms and will satisfy the FTC Safeguards Rule qualified individual requirement for accounting firms.
FTC Safeguards Rule Compliance (Accounting Firms)
A structured engagement to design, implement, and document the information security program required by the FTC Safeguards Rule, including risk assessment, access controls, encryption, incident response, vendor oversight, and the annual board reporting obligation. Teremark’s fractional CISO serves as your designated qualified individual, satisfying the rule’s leadership requirement.
Client Security Questionnaire Readiness
Assessment and remediation of your firm’s security posture against the standards that your largest clients apply during vendor risk reviews. We identify gaps before your clients do, remediate them, and prepare the documentation and attestations that procurement and risk management teams require. No more lost client relationships because your security program cannot pass a vendor assessment.
Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
An executive-level assessment of your firm’s cybersecurity risk, covering data classification, access management, remote work security, third-party risk, email and phishing exposure, and incident response readiness. Delivered as a plain-language risk report with a prioritized remediation plan your managing partner can understand and act on.
Ransomware Preparedness & Incident Response
Law firms and accounting firms are primary ransomware targets. We assess your firm’s current resilience against a ransomware attack, build or strengthen your incident response program, and provide executive leadership when an incident occurs. Firms with a Teremark incident response retainer have executive-level leadership available within 24 hours – the window in which ransomware response decisions are most consequential.
Cyber Insurance Alignment
A structured review of your firm’s cybersecurity program against the requirements of your cyber liability policy, identifying gaps that could affect your coverage in the event of a claim. We work alongside your broker to ensure your security program satisfies insurer requirements and that your coverage reflects your actual risk posture.
CIO Services
Technology Strategy & Modernization
A multi-year technology strategy for your firm, covering document management, collaboration tools, practice management software, cloud infrastructure, and AI adoption, prioritized against your firm’s growth objectives, client service standards, and security obligations. Delivered as a roadmap your managing partner and firm leadership can approve and execute.
AI Strategy for Professional Services
Legal AI and accounting AI tools are changing how professional work is done. We provide executive guidance on evaluating, selecting, and deploying AI tools that improve your firm’s efficiency and client service while managing the confidentiality, privilege, and data security risks that AI adoption in a professional services context requires.
Technology Assessment — Teremark CIO360™
A comprehensive, objective assessment of your firm’s technology capabilities across 14 critical categories, covering security, data management, infrastructure, practice technology, and vendor management. Delivered as a scored maturity report with a prioritized improvement roadmap. The standard first engagement for firms that have not had an independent technology review.
Vendor & Technology Contract Management
Objective oversight of your technology vendor relationships, including practice management software, document management systems, cloud services, and security tools. We review contracts, manage renewals, and ensure your vendor agreements protect your firm’s interests and your clients’ data.
Engagement Options
| Engagement Type | What Teremark Delivers | Best Suited For |
|---|---|---|
|
Technology & Security Assessment (CIO360™) |
A comprehensive 10-business-day assessment of your firm’s technology and security posture across 14 critical categories. Delivered as a scored gap report with a prioritized remediation roadmap. The standard first engagement. |
Firms that have not had an independent technology review; firms that have received a client security questionnaire they cannot fully answer; firms whose malpractice insurer has raised security concerns. |
|
Fractional CISO |
Part-time executive security leadership on a defined monthly schedule. For accounting firms, serves as the FTC Safeguards Rule designated ‘qualified individual.’ For law firms, provides the executive-level security oversight that ABA guidance and large clients require. |
Firms that need CISO-level leadership but cannot justify a full-time executive; accounting firms subject to the FTC Safeguards Rule; law firms with large corporate or financial institution clients. |
|
Fractional CIO |
Part-time executive technology leadership covering firm technology strategy, vendor management, AI adoption guidance, and technology modernization roadmap. |
Firms whose managing partner is making technology decisions without dedicated executive technology leadership; firms planning a major technology initiative. |
|
Interim CIO or CISO |
Full-time executive leadership for a defined period, covering a major initiative, a compliance deadline, or an executive vacancy. |
Firms undergoing a major technology transition; firms that have experienced a cybersecurity incident and need immediate executive leadership. |
|
FTC Safeguards Rule Engagement |
A defined, fixed-scope engagement covering the design, implementation, documentation, and annual board reporting required by the FTC Safeguards Rule. |
Accounting firms and tax preparers subject to the FTC Safeguards Rule that do not have a designated qualified individual or a compliant information security program. |
|
Incident Response Retainer |
Guaranteed 24-hour access to a senior Teremark executive when a cybersecurity incident occurs, including breach response leadership, forensics coordination, regulatory notification guidance, and client communication support. |
Law firms and accounting firms that handle highly sensitive client data and cannot afford a delayed response when an incident occurs. |
|
Advisory Retainer |
Monthly access to a senior Teremark executive for strategic guidance, insurance alignment, client questionnaire support, and technology governance questions. |
Firms with existing technology leadership that needs senior advisory support; managing partners seeking independent technology oversight. |
Your Clients Chose You Because They Trust You
The technology and security program protecting that trust should be led by someone who has built these programs at the enterprise level, not managed as a side responsibility by an IT generalist.