Leading the charge for firms to achieve certification, they join 30 Park Place Chambers and Briefed as certified organisations in the legal sector.
Osborne Clarke have been providing expert legal advice for over 250 years across Europe, Asia, and the U.S., and now, with this certification, their clients can rest assured that their data is secure in line with regulator expectations.
Alongside Briefed and 30 Park Place, the international firm took part in the certification’s pilot scheme, making inputs that would ultimately help to improve the certification’s final version.
Speaking to Legal Futures, Jane Whitcombe, senior legal counsel at Osborne Clarke believes that while the firm’s data security up to standard, the scheme provides an opportunity to tighten up processes:
“I’m confident that our data processing is robust and in line with the GDPR, but it’s good to get a third-party view. You can take a step back and look at everything holistically.”
With Osborne Clarke being the first law firm to achieve certification, other firms’ interests will naturally peak, especially if they have not yet heard of LOCS:23.
Many chambers and legal service providers are already in the process of completing their LOCS:23 journey, and now, with law firms in the mix, the legal industry is beginning to recognise the ICO-approved certification as the gold standard of GDPR compliance.
As a result, it will become increasingly more common for organisations and clients to request evidence of LOCS:23 certification before engaging in contracts.
This is all too familiar to not only Osborne Clarke but similar firms, as they expect clients to ask questions on all fronts when being onboarded.
Ms. Whitcombe said being able to point to an independent certification like LOCS:23 helped “make the process more efficient and our responses more compelling and evidence-based.”
Any large business is required to ensure that the data it controls or processes are safe from the moment it is received, and LOCS:23 allows a business to evidence that they are doing exactly that.
Ms. Whitcombe said she is aware of other firms who are considering their own LOCS:23 journey and hopes that the certification’s use becomes widespread.
“It would be really welcome if that did happen as this gains traction and publicity. It would be great if it becomes an industry standard that our clients can rely on.”
To find out more about the LOCS:23 Certification, visit our webpage here, where we have all the certification details, podcasts and interviews with the scheme owner and the certifying body, ADISA.
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