The legal sector is necessary for interpreting and applying the laws that individuals, companies and organizations must follow. People rely on legal services for legal advice, representation in court and other support during legal proceedings.

Legal sector standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) help legal industry professionals demonstrate their ethics to their clients and manage their operations more efficiently. NQA is an accredited certification body that helps organizations in the legal sector get the necessary ISO certifications their business needs.

About the Legal Industry

The legal industry focuses on the law and its applications. Many employees in the legal sector are lawyers representing their clients in legal proceedings for:

• Bankruptcy
• Real estate
• Criminal law
• Family law

Besides lawyers, the legal industry consists of numerous positions, such as paralegals and legal assistants.

Some trends influencing the legal sector include:

• New technologies in the courtroom
• Companies choosing alternative legal service providers for their legal needs
• More lawyers choosing a freelancing career instead of a formal law firm structure
• Discovery process documents and other information being stored and shared electronically instead of on paper

Challenges the Legal Sector Faces

Some problems in the legal industry include:

• Cybersecurity: Some law firms have outdated cybersecurity systems, making their confidential data vulnerable to hackers. Phishing scams are the most common cybersecurity issue legal firms face, and they will try to gain sensitive information from a client using a digital format. Data breaches are also a concern since law firms have many private files stored on their computers.
• Client expectations: Clients expect more legal services for a lower rate. Do-it-yourself legal services and legal entities have cheap pricing models, so clients expect many law firms to offer similarly low prices. These prices make it challenging for legal industry professionals to remain competitive.
• Technological changes: New technology has changed processes and workflows in the legal sector. With so many technology solutions on the market, law firms may struggle to decide what they need and how to implement it.

Legal Sector Standards Supported by NQA

NQA offers certification and auditing for these legal sector certifications:

• ISO 9001: ISO 9001 is the international standard for quality management systems. It has a framework and set of principles that outline a sensible approach to organizational management. Effective management is crucial for customer and stakeholder satisfaction. ISO 9001 certification helps establish effective processes so your employees can efficiently deliver the right product or service at the right time.

• ISO 27001: ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security management systems. It keeps information confidential, available and honest to ensure that the system adheres to legal regulations. Implementing ISO 27001 helps legal businesses respond to threats like data breaches, vandalism, fire and viral attacks. Certification to this standard demonstrates to your clients that you are dedicated to following the best practices for information security.
• ISO 27701: ISO 27701 is a security techniques standard and an extension of ISO 27001. It is ideal for organizations that need a system in place to comply with data privacy requirements, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This framework is guidance for personally identifiable information (PII) controllers and processors to manage data privacy.
• ISO 37001: ISO 37001 is an anti-bribery management system. It helps the legal industry implement and maintain measures that prevent, detect and address bribery by and against the organization. ISO 37001 is applicable for organizations of all sizes and can be used with management systems like ISO 9001, ISO 22301 and ISO 27001. Compliance with ISO 37001 demonstrates a dedication to integrity and honesty in your business practices.
• ISO 22301: ISO 22301 is the international standard for business continuity management. Compliance with this standard helps businesses prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from incidents that disrupt the business flow. This framework helps companies continue their daily operations, keeps them protected from threats and proves to stakeholders they can easily overcome disruptions and provide excellent service.

Benefits of ISO Certification for the Legal Sector

The advantages of legal sector certifications are:

• Compliance with federal and international regulations: ISO certifications are recognized internationally. Proving your compliance allows your legal organization to avoid the penalties, financial losses and lawsuits that can happen with noncompliance.
• Win new clients: Your law firm can use the credibility of ISO certifications to draw in new clients and partners.
• Better information security: Following the security framework outlined in ISO standards will help you keep your employees' and clients' information confidential.
• Certainty that quality standards for service are maintained: You can be confident that your business offers the best services possible for your clients with ISO certifications.
• Assurance to clients and stakeholders their data is protected: Certification to ISO standards for the legal sector proves to your clients and stakeholders that you take their privacy seriously.
• Improved performance across the organization: ISO certifications help your company streamline processes for increased efficiency and identify other performance improvements. As a result, your organizational performance can improve.

Why Work with NQA for Legal Sector Standards?

NQA is a certification body that conducts certification audits for many different sectors, including the legal industry. Our goal is to ensure our clients get certified to the ISO standards their company needs to thrive. We support our clients as they meet the technical demands certification requires. NQA has issued more than 50,000 certificates in 90 countries and worked with clients from various industries, including logistics and pharmaceuticals.

The benefits of choosing NQA for ISO certification for the legal sector include:

• Proven business credentials: Once we have certified you to your chosen standard, your company will be independently verified as meeting a globally recognized industry standard. This verification will help your business prove its capabilities to clients and stakeholders.
• Practical advice: NQA will help you understand the legal sector standard requirements and the certification process, so you can feel well prepared for your audit.
• Improvement focus: NQA assesses your compliance to your chosen standard and identifies improvement opportunities your business can make to be more efficient and streamlined by your next audit.

Start your Legal Sector Certifications Today

Since legal services will always be necessary, legal industry professionals need to improve quality management, information security and business continuity. Legal sector standards like ISO certifications allow the legal industry to make these improvements. Certification audits from NQA will help your business meet the requirements of your chosen standard and improve your organization overall.

Get an ISO standard audit from NQA today. Request a quote for your audit, and contact us with any questions about legal sector certifications.