IT support for law, engineering and professional firms

Look for a provider that already understands how your firm works: your practice or design software, document management, big files, remote work, and the confidentiality your clients expect. Then check four things: how fast a real person starts on your issue, whether security and backup are built into the plan, whether costs are predictable, and whether they can help answer client security questionnaires. Ask for references from firms like yours.

See the questions to ask in our guide

A managed IT provider acts as your outsourced IT department for a predictable monthly fee. For a professional firm, that typically covers support for partners and staff, monitoring and maintenance of computers, servers and the network, practice and design software support, document management, cybersecurity, backup and Microsoft 365. It also covers planning, so workstation replacements and upgrades happen on your schedule instead of as emergencies.

Managed IT services

Usually not, and it isn’t a good use of their time. Every hour they spend on IT is an hour nobody bills, and one person can’t be an expert in networks, security, document management and CAD performance at once. When they’re out, nobody covers. If you have someone you trust, co-managed IT gives them a full team behind them instead of replacing them.

Managed IT services

Fairoaks IT supports the software professional firms run on, including Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, Smokeball, PCLaw, Tabs3, NetDocuments, iManage and Worldox for law firms, and AutoCAD, Revit, Civil 3D, Bluebeam, SolidWorks, Adobe, Deltek, BQE Core, Egnyte and Autodesk Construction Cloud for engineering and design firms, plus QuickBooks, Sage and Microsoft 365. We keep the systems behind them running and deal directly with the software vendor when an issue crosses into their side.

See the full software list

Fairoaks IT provides managed IT and cybersecurity for law firms, engineering and architecture firms, land surveyors, consultants and other professional practices throughout Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and the Charlotte, NC metro area, from offices in Franklin, MA and Belmont, NC. We’ve been independent and owner-led since 1991, we won the Soteria Award for Most Trusted MSP in North America, and founder and president Tom Crossley leads our professional services work.

Professional services IT in Massachusetts and Rhode Island  |  Professional services IT in the Charlotte, NC area

How fast does a real person start on an issue? Do you support our practice or design software today? How do you protect client confidentiality, and can you help us answer client security questionnaires? When did you last test-restore a client’s backup? What isn’t included in the monthly fee? How will you onboard us without disrupting deadlines? Can I talk to a firm like ours that you support?

Get the full list, with what good answers sound like

For most firms beyond a few people, a document management system pays for itself. Tools like NetDocuments, iManage and Worldox organize files by client and matter, track versions, control who can see what and make documents searchable. Regular file shares work for small firms, but they need careful permissions and folder structure to keep matters separate. We help you choose, set it up and move existing files without losing anything.

Software we support

Match the setup to how your team collaborates. Large models need fast workstations with dedicated graphics and a fast office network, and remote access over a slow VPN rarely works well. Cloud collaboration tools like Autodesk Construction Cloud and Egnyte can sync files locally while keeping one source of truth. We look at your file sizes, offices and workflows, then recommend the combination that actually performs.

CAD workstations and big files

Often, but not always all at once. Cloud document management and file sharing make remote work easier and take aging servers off your plate. Very large design files, older applications and slow internet connections can make a hybrid approach the better fit. The deciding factors are your software, file sizes, internet reliability, client requirements and what your current server would cost to replace. We lay out the options side by side.

Cloud computing

With company-managed devices, multi-factor authentication on every login and secure access to your document system and applications, so client files never live on personal computers or personal cloud accounts. Phones and tablets that access firm email can be managed too, so a lost device can be wiped. Phone and tablet management is available as an add-on.

Managed IT services

Treat them like the business-critical systems they are. Time and billing software like Tabs3, PCLaw, Clio, Deltek and BQE Core, along with QuickBooks and Sage, should be backed up, kept current and protected with multi-factor authentication, with access limited to the people who need it. Month-end is the wrong time to discover a problem, so we schedule updates around your billing cycle.

Backup and recovery

Fairoaks IT provides live support during business hours, with after-hours support available for emergencies, and our average time to start on a support issue is under 12 minutes. For firms facing a filing deadline or a big submittal, we plan ahead so the systems you depend on are updated and tested before crunch time.

How our support works

The ABA Model Rules expect lawyers to understand the benefits and risks of the technology they use and to make reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access to client information. ABA Formal Opinion 477R addresses securing client communications, and Opinion 483 covers what lawyers should do after a data breach. Your state’s version of the rules controls, so check with your bar, but reasonable security is the expectation everywhere.

Client confidentiality, done right

Follow your written response plan. ABA Formal Opinion 483 says lawyers should monitor for breaches, act reasonably to stop them and restore systems, determine what happened, and notify affected clients when their information was involved. State breach laws can require notice to individuals and regulators too. Call your IT provider, your cyber insurance carrier and, if needed, outside counsel right away, and preserve evidence.

Security and fraud questions

Honestly, with proof. More clients, especially corporate, financial and healthcare clients, now ask outside firms about multi-factor authentication, encryption, backups, training and incident response before they send work. Gather evidence for every yes, keep a master copy of your answers, and where the honest answer is no, show a plan with dates. We help firms fill these out and close the gaps they reveal.

Get the questionnaire prep sheet in our guide

Yes, carefully. ABA Formal Opinion 512 says lawyers using generative AI must protect client confidentiality, understand the tools’ risks, review the output and, in some cases, get client consent. Free and personal AI accounts may keep what you type in, so client information should only go into business-grade tools approved for it. A short AI use policy should name approved tools, list what never goes in and say who to ask first.

Get the AI policy starter in our guide

Sometimes. Firms that work on defense projects may handle controlled unclassified information, which brings NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC requirements, and many public and private clients write security requirements into their contracts. Read your contracts for security clauses and ask clients what they expect. We help firms meet those requirements, including CMMC readiness for defense work.

CMMC and NIST 800-171

Because firms hold valuable, confidential information and move money. Law firms hold client secrets and handle settlement and closing funds, and engineering and design firms hold drawings and project data clients expect them to protect. Criminals also know firms can’t afford downtime or a public breach. The defense is layered: multi-factor authentication, email filtering, endpoint protection, encrypted file sharing, tested backups and trained staff.

Managed security services

Verify every change to payment instructions by phone, using a number you already have on file, never one in the email. Business email compromise often arrives from a real, hacked mailbox at a title company, client or opposing counsel, so the email itself looks legitimate. The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report recorded about $3 billion in business email compromise losses. Add multi-factor authentication on every mailbox and a written verification policy.

Get the payment verification policy in our guide

Multi-factor authentication on email, document management and remote access; encryption on laptops and in transit; endpoint protection on every computer and server; email filtering; security updates on a schedule; backups stored where ransomware can’t reach them and test-restored; staff training with phishing simulations; and regular reviews of who can reach which client files.

Client confidentiality, done right

Remove access the same day, from every system: email, document management, practice software, remote access and shared accounts. Collect laptops and devices, remove firm data from personal phones, and move their files and client matters to the right people. When a departing lawyer takes clients, coordinate the file transfer properly rather than letting anyone copy folders on the way out. Our guide includes an offboarding checklist.

Get the offboarding checklist in our guide

Most carriers ask about the same core controls: multi-factor authentication on email and remote access, endpoint detection and response, backups that are offline or can’t be altered and are tested, security awareness training, timely patching and how you verify payment changes. Make sure every yes on the application is true, because carriers look closely at those answers when a claim is filed. Your insurance agent has the final word on your policy.

Get the insurance prep sheet in our guide

It depends on how many people and devices you support, how many offices and remote staff you have, your software and file needs, your security requirements and how much is included in the monthly fee versus billed separately. Most providers price per user or per device each month, with onboarding and projects quoted separately. Compare what’s included, not just the total. Our IT Buyer’s Guide explains the pricing models and contract terms to watch for.

Get the free IT Buyer’s Guide (PDF)

A good plan lists both clearly. Monthly plans typically include support for your users, monitoring and maintenance, security tools, backup and Microsoft 365 management. Hardware, software licenses and larger projects, like a server replacement, a document management migration or a new office, are usually quoted separately. Ask every provider for their exclusions in writing. At Fairoaks IT, we explain all costs up front, so there are no hidden fees or surprise invoices.

What you can count on

Many managed IT agreements run for multiple years, which locks in your rate and gives your provider reason to invest in your environment. What matters is what happens if things aren’t working, so ask every provider two questions: what happens if you don’t deliver, and how are price increases handled? Get both answers in writing. At Fairoaks IT, ours are spelled out in our agreement, and we’ll walk you through every page before you sign.

What you can count on

With a plan built around your calendar. A good transition documents every system, password, license and vendor, including your practice software and document management, then coordinates a handoff from your current provider. Changes are scheduled around court dates, submittals and month-end billing. Urgent risks like backups and multi-factor authentication get fixed first. Fairoaks IT assigns a point of contact and holds weekly check-ins until onboarding is complete.

How working with us starts

We review your network, servers, computers, practice and design software, file storage, Microsoft 365, backups and security with our proprietary 27-point assessment. You get a plain-English summary of what’s working, what’s at risk and what to fix first. No scare tactics, just facts. It starts with a discovery call.

Schedule a discovery call

If you have around 10 or more people on computers every day, or every outage means unbilled time and missed deadlines, managed IT usually makes sense. Smaller firms carry the same confidentiality duties as large ones. A short discovery call is the fastest way to know.

Schedule a discovery call