If you run a law firm, then switching offices is a little bit more complicated than it would be if you owned a different type of business, due to the quantity of confidential data about your clientele that you keep on your premises. Below are two tips that could help you with this challenging situation.

Use an office removals service

One of the most sensible steps you can take to ensure that there are no serious data breaches during your law firm's office relocation is to find a moving company that specialises in office removals, instead of using one that offers general moving services. The reasons for this are as follows: any moving company that routinely handles office relocations will understand the importance of protecting their customers' confidential information and will put procedures in place to ensure that no one can gain unauthorised access to their vans whilst these vehicles are filled with computers and filing cabinets on which confidential information is being stored.

For example, they may have a rule in place that forbids their employees from leaving the van unattended -- even for just a few seconds, when its doors are locked -- so that any criminals who are aware of what's inside the van never have an opportunity to steal it. Additionally, some office removals companies have CCTV systems in their vans so that anyone who tries to get into the van can be identified. Finally, a company that has experience with office relocations may also provide you with the vehicle's tracking information; this will enable you to check that the van travelled from your old office to the new one without any unauthorised stop-offs.

Take an inventory of the digital and hardback forms of confidential data in your office

Another step that you should take if you wish to protect your client's data is to take a thorough inventory of all of the filing cabinets, computers, external hard drives and flash drives on which you store your clients' confidential data before you move to your new premises.

The reason for this is as follows: doing this will ensure that if, for example, you think that a hardback copy of a file or flash drive with important files has been misplaced, you can find out if this is the case very easily, simply by comparing your inventory to the collection of items that have been delivered to the new office. This will allow you to take action immediately to retrieve the lost file which will, in turn, minimise the risk of it falling into the wrong hands.

Contact an office removals company in your area for more information.

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