Questions answered
The short version is above. Each heading below answers one question law firms actually ask, with the answer in the first sentence. You can skip straight to a quote at any point.
Deeper dives
- IT support for Clio, MyCase and other legal softwareClio and MyCase run in the cloud, so what is there to support? Everything around them: the sign-ins, the Outlook integration, where the documents live, e-signature and the security that keeps client files private.
- Law firm cybersecurity and client confidentialityYour duty to keep client information confidential does not change because the files are digital. Here is what that duty looks like as IT settings, in plain words, from someone who sets them up for Dallas firms.
- Document management, backup and e-discovery for Dallas law firmsWhere your matter files should live, what a law firm backup actually has to do, and what e-discovery infrastructure means for a firm your size. Written by the person who would set it up.
- IT support for solo attorneys and small law offices in DallasWhat a solo or boutique law practice actually needs from IT, whether to pay hourly or monthly, and what affordable really looks like, from the owner who plans the work and stays your contact.
- Moving a law firm in Dallas: the IT checklistA week-by-week IT checklist for a law firm relocating in Dallas, covering internet lead times, cabling, phones, the server question and the move weekend itself, from the person who would run it.
Who provides managed IT services for Dallas law firms?
I do. Cross River Tech is a small owner-led managed IT company in Dallas, you deal with me directly, and law firms are a large part of the work I take on, from solo practices to firms of roughly 25 attorneys, with remote support for lawyers anywhere in Texas. The service is managed IT: one monthly per-user or per-device fee that covers the computers, server, network, email, backups and the legal software on top.
What makes a firm different from another small office is not the headcount. It is the duty of confidentiality, deadlines that do not move, and the number of programs that have to work together: practice management, document management, email, e-signature, court e-filing and accounting. When one vendor blames another, the firm loses the afternoon. Having one accountable contact responsible for the whole chain is the reason to hire me rather than a helpdesk.
Which IT company in Dallas understands legal software like Clio and NetDocuments?
I support Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, NetDocuments, iManage and the Microsoft 365 tools that connect to them, and I work alongside those vendors when a problem is on their side. Two patterns come up constantly: a Clio sync problem usually starts with the Outlook add-in, not with Clio, and a NetDocuments folder that will not open is almost always a permissions question rather than a network one. Knowing that turns a two-day vendor ticket into a short call.
Word and Outlook add-ins, user setup, matter-level permissions and migrations between systems are covered in detail in IT support for Clio, MyCase and other legal software.
How should a law firm handle document management, backups and e-discovery?
Three things have to be true wherever your documents live, whether that is NetDocuments, iManage, SharePoint, a server in the closet or a mix of all four: the right people can open the right file quickly, no one outside that group can, and a copy exists somewhere the original cannot take down.
For backups that means daily copies of the document system, email and any server, kept nearby for fast restores and offsite for fire, theft or ransomware, with restores tested on a schedule. A backup nobody has restored from is a hope, not a plan. I can tell you in hours, not adjectives, how long a full recovery of your firm would take.
For litigation practices I set up the plumbing e-discovery needs: enough fast storage for large productions, a secure way to send and receive files that is not a consumer sharing link, and reliable access to hosted review platforms. I do not run your review or make privilege calls; I make sure the infrastructure is never the reason a production is late. If you are still on one aging server, I will give you an honest comparison of keeping it, replacing it or moving to a hosted document system, with costs for your size of firm. The longer walk-through is document management, backup and e-discovery infrastructure for law firms.
What does client confidentiality look like in a law office network?
It looks like six specific safeguards, each with a plain reason, rather than a promise. Law firms hold what criminals want most: trust-account money, sensitive personal and business information, and busy staff used to acting on urgent email. This is what I put in place and what each piece is for.
| Safeguard | What it protects against |
|---|---|
| Multi-factor sign-in on email and documents | A stolen password being enough to read client files |
| Email filtering and spoofing checks | Fake wire instructions and fake court notices |
| Encrypted laptops and phones | A device lost at the courthouse or from a car |
| Endpoint protection on every computer | Ransomware and malware from attachments |
| Tested offsite backups | Ransomware, hardware failure, fire or theft |
| Access limited by role and matter | Staff seeing files they have no reason to see |
These measures help you meet the confidentiality expectations in the Texas Disciplinary Rules and answer the questions on a cyber-insurance application. I do not advise on your obligations; that is for you and your ethics counsel. I make sure the technology answer is a good one. Details are in law firm cybersecurity and client confidentiality and on the cybersecurity, backup and disaster recovery page.
Who runs network wiring and moves IT for a law office in Dallas?
I do both. For a new suite I run Cat6 from the IT closet to every office, workstation, printer and conference room, label and test each drop, and set up the rack, patch panel, switch, firewall and access points so the office works on move-in day. The same company running the cable and supporting the network afterwards means there is never a gap where the cabling company blames the IT company. See data cabling and IT room setup.
A firm relocation is planned around the trial calendar and usually done over a weekend: workstations disconnected and reconnected, internet ordered early at the new address because carriers can take weeks in a new suite, the server moved safely and phones ringing on Monday. The steps are in moving a law firm: the IT checklist.
What should a Dallas firm do when it keeps having computer problems?
Switch, and do it in the right order. I get administrative access to your email, domain, firewall and backups, document everything and confirm the backups are real before the old provider is told anything, so nothing goes dark in between. The method is in how to switch IT companies without downtime.
Firm size changes the shape of the setup, not the standard. A solo or three-lawyer boutique gets a lean stack: Microsoft 365, a cloud practice management system, encrypted laptops, a business-grade firewall and a backup that runs by itself, priced per user so a solo with an assistant pays for two people. Firms that only need a hand a few times a year can use hourly break/fix support instead; the trade-offs are in IT support for solo attorneys and small law offices.
Either way, contact me with how many attorneys you have, what software you run and what has been going wrong, and I will say what I would fix first.
Questions law firms ask
What is the best IT support company for law firms in Dallas?
The right IT support for a Dallas law firm is someone who knows legal software, takes confidentiality seriously and answers when you call. Cross River Tech is a small owner-led managed IT company, and you deal with me directly: I support Clio, MyCase, NetDocuments, iManage and Microsoft 365, run tested backups and secure email, and work month-to-month with firms up to about 25 attorneys across Dallas–Fort Worth.
Do you have experience with legal software like Clio, MyCase and NetDocuments?
Yes. I support Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, NetDocuments, iManage and the Microsoft 365 tools that connect to them. I handle installation, user setup, Outlook and Word add-ins, permissions and sync problems, and I work directly with the vendor when an issue is on their side so you are not stuck in the middle.
Can you support a 12-attorney firm, or is that too big for one person?
A 12-attorney firm with staff, around 25 to 30 users, is comfortably within what Cross River Tech supports. You deal with me, my team handles the routine monitoring and updates behind me, most day-to-day issues are resolved remotely in minutes, monitoring catches many problems before anyone notices, and I schedule projects so they do not collide with trial dates. I am honest about limits: a small company is not a large helpdesk, and firms needing several technicians on shift at once are a better fit for a larger provider.
How do you keep client files confidential?
Every laptop is encrypted, email and document systems require multi-factor sign-in, and access is limited to the people who need each file. Email is filtered for phishing and spoofing, and sensitive messages can be encrypted with one click. Backups are encrypted and tested. I explain each safeguard plainly so you can describe it to clients or on an insurance questionnaire.
Can you run network cabling for a new law office in Dallas?
Yes. I run Cat6 cable from the IT closet to every office, workstation, printer and conference room, terminate and test each drop, and set up the rack, patch panel, switch, firewall and Wi-Fi access points. Because I also support the network afterwards, there is no hand-off between a cabling contractor and an IT company.
What happens if the system goes down the night before a filing deadline?
You call me. Remote support is available around the clock, including holidays, at after-hours rates, and I can often be onsite in Dallas the same day. Because I know your setup, I go straight to the likely cause rather than starting from scratch. Tested backups mean a failed server or a locked file can be recovered rather than rebuilt.
How much does managed IT cost for a small law firm in Dallas?
I quote per user or per device per month after a short conversation about your firm, month-to-month with no long-term contract. For context, small business managed IT in the Dallas market is commonly quoted somewhere around $100 to $175 per user per month; that is a typical market range, not my price list. Hourly support without a contract is $100 remote and $150 onsite.