Law Firm Gains Peace of Mind with Longstanding Managed Services Partnership
Pairing internal IT resources with MSP’s deep expertise enables this legal practice to better secure data and clients.
The complicated, often confidential, circumstances that lawyers help people navigate can have a significant impact on individuals, families, or businesses. So, while the situations may not be “life or death,” those working in the legal industry depend on network access around the clock, including industry-specific applications and sophisticated cybersecurity to protect sensitive personal data. For New Jersey-based Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, a multi-specialty legal practice with about 140 employees, technology is essential as their teams work to meet tight casework deadlines.
“Part of the growth trajectory for the law firm was addressing tech issues as a high priority,” explains Keith Progebin, IT manager for the practice. Under Progebin’s direction, a small in-house IT team manages the large practice’s day-to-day support needs, ensuring employees can access the technology tools they need to stay on task. They depend on IT partner Exigent Technologies to handle the rest of the load, providing a safety net for daily IT issues and overseeing the critical cybersecurity needs of the practice.
Under the umbrella of Exigent’s Assurance Complete managed IT services, Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla has the assurance of an experienced managed services provider (MSP) partner. “We like that extra layer of protection; in particular, Exigent helps us with security testing and 24×7 monitoring. If something happens overnight, we can start working together to resolve the issue before the doors open,” says Progebin.
Managed Services Support Enables Stability, Security for Law Firm
The partnership between Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla and Exigent is deeply rooted; the two organizations have worked together for more than 15 years under the guidance of account manager and Exigent partner Frank Vizzuso. “When it first started, Exigent was focused on big technology projects rather than any support role,” says Progebin, who joined the law firm eight years ago. Today, even though the in-house team handles most support tickets—such as forgotten passwords or trouble with a business application—Progebin can escalate to Exigent’s support team around the clock. “If we push something to Exigent, it’s usually a matter related to a project that we’ve done with them, involves multiple vendors, or falls outside our knowledge or resources. When it gets overly complex or is bigger in scope, we go straight to Exigent.”
As a longstanding partner, Exigent’s familiarity with the Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla environment has provided peace of mind for not just Progebin and his team, but the entire law practice—and its clients. Progebin is often asked to verify the data and network protection in place at the firm before a new client engages with the legal team. Those audits, a common ask from clients in banking or other regulated industries, are often put to rest quickly since the firm has a professional technology partner. As cybersecurity for law firms grows more complicated, Exigent offers additional layers of protection paired with knowledge about the current but quickly evolving cyber landscape. “The Exigent team has so much more experience; they prepare us for new cybersecurity concerns while our team concentrates on other tasks,” says Progebin.
Exigent also supports the legal-specific technology needed by the law firm. Often, the MSP works through managing and optimizing industry applications on new hardware such as laptops, ensuring those niche solutions are working correctly within the larger IT environment. “Exigent has always handled it well because the team is more than talented enough to figure it out, or they work with the software company to resolve any issues.”
Collaboration Provides Foundation for Law Firm Partnership
One challenge for managed IT services providers such as Exigent is finding customers who embrace a truly collaborative mindset. One key element of the successful partnership with Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla is the level of transparency the two enjoy.
“I knew coming into this position how important the relationship with Exigent was,” says Progebin, whose first interview at the law firm was with Frank since the firm used Exigent to help whittle down the candidates. He describes Exigent as the perfect balance of “big enough” but not so large that the law practice is just another name and number.
“If you are working with an MSP, the size of the firm is important because you don’t want a one- or two-person shop where your ticket is stuck in the queue for days, nor too big where you are just a number,” he advises. “Exigent is a better fit. You have access to resources, but they also get to know you, and you don’t get engineer 427 who has no idea who you are.”
Progebin’s other tips include partnering with a local provider for those scenarios where only hands-on support will do; taking the time to meet the team before you sign a contract; making sure you understand response times and support processes; and having a trusted account manager who has your organization’s best interests.
“Frank has been our go-to from the start and we know he has our best interest in mind. He fights for us to get what we need and if there’s an issue – he’s on top of it. No one on the team is salesy either. This team is about value – not hitting a quota.
“It’s a win-win for everyone. The right-sized technology, done well, plus it’s always a positive experience to work with the Exigent team.”
Exigent Method
Law firms have a clear ethical and professional responsibility to protect client data, a challenge clearly outlined by the American Bar Association in several guidelines. To meet that obligation, Exigent aligns managed IT services support with a full suite of advanced cybersecurity solutions, from firewall-as-a-service to Dark Web monitoring. The goal is to safeguard the sensitive, confidential, and personal data held by Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla as a trusted legal advisor. Additionally, Team Exigent has worked collaboratively with the in-house IT talent to evolve the legal practice into a fully cloud-based operation
- Arctic Wolf SEIM and SOC
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