The banks are being encouraged to take these steps by growing pressure from their regulators. The Department of Financial Services in New York recently wrote to several banks, enquiring about the protections they have in place when sending their own confidential data to third parties including their legal advisers. 

Potential weak links

The Wall Street Journal wrote in a piece on the subject: ‘Law firms increasingly are seen as potential weak links. Clients often entrust them with everything from valuable trade secrets to market-moving details on mergers and acquisitions.’  Lorey Hoffman, Goodwin Procter’s chief information officer, when was asked about these kinds of checks, responded: ‘It’s a lot more than just checking a box’. Source: ABA