RULE 4-1.6 CYBERSECURITY
FOR FLORIDA LAW FIRMS.
The Florida Bar duty-of-care rule for protecting client information — what "reasonable safeguards" means in 2026, mapped to a documented IT program your bar counsel and malpractice carrier will recognize.
No long-term contracts — 90-day notice. Local Florida team.
SIX REQUIREMENTS
EVERY FL FIRM HAS.
Reasonable Safeguards (Comment 18)
Rule 4-1.6(c) requires an attorney to "make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client." In 2026 that floor includes MFA, encryption at rest + in transit, EDR, written InfoSec policy.
Technology Competence (Rule 4-1.1)
Comment 6 to Rule 4-1.1: lawyers must keep abreast of changes in technology "including the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology." Auditors and bar counsel use this as the lens for evaluating "reasonable."
Wire Fraud Defense
The #1 cyber risk hitting FL firms in 2026 — business email compromise targeting real-estate closings and estate distributions. Documented out-of-band verification + email banner + MFA required to defend.
Secure Client Communication
Encrypted email options (M365 OME / Egress), client portal for sensitive docs (Clio Connect, NetDocuments share, ShareFile), and a documented choice-of-channel policy aligned with Florida Bar formal opinions.
Vendor Due Diligence
Rule 4-5.3 — supervision of nonlawyer assistants extends to cloud vendors, eDiscovery vendors, IT providers. Documented vendor assessments and a signed BAA-equivalent confidentiality protocol with each.
Incident Response Plan
Written breach-response procedure covering FIPA (30-day FL notification), Rule 4-1.6 client notice obligations, and malpractice-carrier reporting requirements. Tested and table-topped.
EVERY ATTORNEY
LICENSED IN FLORIDA.
BAR-ALIGNED IT
BUILT BY FLORIDIANS.
Maps to Multiple Frameworks
The Florida Bar reasonable-safeguards baseline is essentially NIST CSF + FIPA + cyber-insurance controls. We implement the unified stack — one program, multiple compliance outputs.
Florida-Specific Documentation
Florida Bar formal opinions, Comments 6 and 18, Rule 4-5.3 supervision — your written InfoSec program references the rules your bar counsel will actually invoke.
Wire-Fraud Defense Drilled
Out-of-band verification procedures, banner enforcement, MFA + DMARC + SPF + DKIM aligned. We run quarterly social-engineering simulations against your team.
BUILD THE BAR-ALIGNED IT STACK.
Reasonable safeguards, technology competence, wire-fraud defense — one local team.
Talk to a Simply IT specialist about Florida Bar Rule 4-1.6 compliance — no obligation.
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