Managed IT and Cybersecurity for Montana Law Firms
Information Systems of Montana (ISM) provides managed IT, 24/7 security monitoring and backup for Montana law firms. We protect client confidences, trust account transactions and your practice management system, and we document the safeguards behind them, so you can answer a client security questionnaire or a cyber insurance renewal with evidence instead of guesses.
We are a local Montana team that has supported Montana firms since 1995, from solo-and-staff offices to multi-attorney practices with remote lawyers and more than one location.
The risks Montana law firms face
Law firms hold exactly what criminals want: privileged files, client financial data and money moving through trust accounts. Here is what we see most often:
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Wire fraud and business email compromise aimed at closings, settlements and trust account disbursements
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Ransomware that locks case files and calendars right before a filing deadline
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Client, carrier and insurer security questionnaires that ask for proof, not promises
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Practice management, billing and document systems that are only as secure as the accounts that log into them
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Staff pasting client information into AI tools the firm never approved
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Attorneys working from home, the courthouse and the road on devices the firm does not manage
What Montana's ethics rules say about technology
The Montana Supreme Court revised the Montana Rules of Professional Conduct, effective January 1, 2017, to address lawyers' use of technology, including Rule 1.6 on confidentiality. The Preamble ties competence to keeping abreast of "the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology."
In plain terms, reasonable security is now part of competent practice. And if a breach exposes Montana residents' personal information, Montana law (MCA 30-14-1704) requires notifying those residents and sending a copy of the notice to the Montana Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection.
We are not your ethics counsel. We build, run and document the technical safeguards that support your obligations, so your firm can show what it does and why.
How ISM protects your firm
Every managed plan includes the security layers below, built into the price instead of sold as add-ons:
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24/7 threat monitoring and response from a staffed security operations center
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Backup with off-site redundancy and tested restores, so ransomware is a bad day instead of a malpractice claim
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AI-powered email protection that catches impersonation and look-alike domains before anyone wires trust funds
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Multi-factor authentication, encrypted laptops and secure remote access for attorneys working outside the office
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Support for your practice software, including Smokeball, Clio, Microsoft 365 and document management, working directly with your vendors
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Secure AI adoption: Microsoft Copilot rollouts with data governance, so confidential matters stay with the people who should see them
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Business phone systems built for law offices (see our VoIP services)
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Written documentation of your controls for cyber insurance applications and client security reviews
Stopping wire fraud before it starts
Most wire fraud at law firms starts with a compromised or spoofed mailbox, not a sophisticated hack. We lock that door from several sides: email authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC) so criminals cannot easily send as your domain, alerts on suspicious mailbox rules and sign-ins, impersonation warnings on incoming mail, and a simple written callback procedure your staff follows before any funds move.
Protecting Montana businesses since 1995
11.1-year average client relationship
Best of Montana five years running
Named to the CRN 2026 MSP 500 and the MSP 501
Titans of the Industry nominee two years running
Frequently Asked Questions
At minimum: 24/7 security monitoring, multi-factor authentication on every account, email protection against impersonation, encrypted devices, and backups you have actually tested. Most firms also need support for their practice management software and written documentation of their controls for clients and cyber insurers. ISM includes the core security layers in every managed plan.
Montana's Rules of Professional Conduct were revised in 2017 to address technology. The Preamble says competence includes keeping abreast of the benefits and risks of relevant technology, and Rule 1.6 covers confidentiality of client information. The rules do not name specific tools, but reasonable, documented safeguards are now part of competent practice. Your ethics counsel can advise on the rules; ISM builds and documents the technical safeguards.
We set up email authentication (SPF, DKIM and DMARC), AI-powered email protection that flags impersonation and look-alike domains, multi-factor authentication, and alerts on suspicious mailbox rules and sign-ins. We also help you put a written callback verification procedure in place so no one moves funds based on an email alone.
Yes. We support the Microsoft 365, network, devices and security around your practice software, and we work directly with vendors like Smokeball and Clio when an issue sits on their side. We can also help automate repeatable workflows with Microsoft tools.
Yes, with guardrails. Before turning on Copilot, we review who can see what in Microsoft 365, tighten sharing permissions, and help you adopt a written AI use policy. That keeps confidential matters from surfacing for people who should not see them and keeps client data out of unapproved public AI tools.
Our security operations center works to contain the threat and we restore systems from backup. Under Montana law (MCA 30-14-1704), a business whose breach exposes Montana residents' personal information must notify those residents and send a copy of the notice to the Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection. We give you and your breach counsel the technical facts needed to make those decisions quickly.
Yes. ISM serves law firms across Montana, including Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell and Missoula, plus smaller communities. Most support is delivered remotely, security monitoring runs 24/7, and our local Montana team handles on-site work when it is needed.
Talk to a Local Montana Team
Schedule a free law firm IT risk review. We will look at your security, backups and compliance gaps and tell you plainly what to fix first.
