Originally published in our free TL NewsWire newsletter. Instead of reading TL NewsWire here, sign up now to receive future issues via email.
Prevent Inadvertent Disclosures and Other Email Mishaps
The early days of the web favored large firms. Tim Berners Lee gave the world HTML, and Marc Andreessen the web browser. But if you wanted a client portal — then known as an extranet — for secure communications and document sharing you had two expensive choices: build it yourself or use overpriced turnkey solutions. As a result, small law firms and even most large law firms still use plain old email for client communications. Now, email is fine for newsletters like TL NewsWire, but it's not ideal for confidential attorney-client communications or exchanging large files. Fortunately, even sole practitioners can now afford a client portal.
Privacy Data Systems All-in-One Privacy Suite … in One Sentence
Privacy Data Systems All-in-One Privacy Suite (PDS Professional) is web communications service that enables law firms to securely exchange messages and large files with clients.
The Killer Feature
Under immense pressure, many bar associations have given their blessing to email for client communications. So you need not worry about being disbarred if you misaddress an email message, just fired and maybe sued — with perhaps negative reviews on Avvo, Google Places, Yelp, and elsewhere too. Not good. A lesser problem but still a problem occurs when you correctly send an email message but it ends up unread in your client's spam folder.
PDS Professional eliminates email mishaps. For example, if you misaddress an email message, the unintended recipient won't be able to read it because they won't have the access code. When you correctly send a message, PDS Professional provides "immediate and irrefutable" proof of delivery.
"Lawyers and their clients need to communicate quickly, and share documents with each other, but standard email systems are not secure enough to maintain privacy," Privacy Data Systems Vice President of Operations Ray Blackburn told us. "We have put together an affordable suite of privacy tools that combines security with the ease-of-use of email."
Other Notable Features
PDS Professional provides your firm with a Secure Inbox — an encrypted web page branded with your logo — that you can provide to your clients. As a result, unlike other services, your clients need not register to send you secure messages and documents. Likewise, they don't need an account or any plugins to receive messages and documents from you.
PDS Professional includes a number of bank-grade security features, including view-only documents, watermarked documents, electronic signatures, rights management settings, message recall, and biometric authentication.
For example, the eSignature technology enables your clients to sign documents electronically using a process approved by the ESIGN Act. Rights management enables you to impose controls on messages such as preventing printing, downloading, forwarding, etc. With Message Recall, you can prevent delivery of a message you have already sent. If your client has already read the message, you can prevent it from being opened again.
What Else Should You Know?
In addition to all this security, PDS Professional enables you to send large files. Each licensee receives 2 GB of storage space, which you can increase if needed. PDS Professional works in all modern web browsers. It costs either $14.50 per month, or $145 per year. You can try it for free. Learn more about PDS Professional.
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