There is no shortage of subpar consumer services available to store documents and data. Should you, as a firm and practicing professional, be using these to store and access client documents and confidential information? The answer should be a resounding no. Performing a quick web search on data security breaches for many of the consumer services returns a staggering amount of posts, ranging from hacked accounts, to leaked passwords, to complete data loss. For over a decade, NetDocuments has been solving the document management security concerns for firms all over the world. Here are some key questions and answers to navigate the complexity of client data and confidentiality.

In the September/October 2011issue of The Pennsylvania Lawyer, published by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, practicing attorney and technology consultant, Shannon Brown, provides a very thoughtful and informative primer on the "why's and wherefores" of cloud computing. His article offers some important background for attorneys attempting to understand the "alphabet soup" of current cloud computing terminology.

Donna Seyle is an attorney and consultant who helps small firms and solo lawyers with innovative law practice strategies. She has established herself as a thought leader in the field and was kind enough to discuss these topics this week for the NetDocuments blog.

Q: Thanks for joining me Donna. First off, can you tell me a little bit about what you do?

A: My business, Law Practice Strategy, is all about the evolution of the legal profession resulting from technology and the recession. Given the nature of the job market for lawyers, I developed a strategy that enables solos and small boutique firms build successful practices based on the principles of cost-containment and project management, and the integrated use of content marketing, technology and fixed pricing. I work with lawyers, individually and in groups, helping them to develop a proactive mindset, understand the principles of the strategy and use the tools to start or redesign their practice.

LegalTech New York is coming up in February, and it looks to be a very exciting event. LegalTech impressed a lot of folks in the industry when it announced the lineup of Keynote speakers for the show. On Wednesday, February 3, Malcolm Gladwell, the author of Outliers and Blink, will be giving the keynote address, while on Tuesday, Mark Howitson, Deputy General Council of Facebook, will be the speaker. We are also very excited that our own Alvin Tedjamulia will be speaking on the Emerging Technologies track on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 2:45pm. He will be joined by Dierk Eckart, who is the CIO at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP.