As cloud storage gains fame and popularity, many firms and companies such as law firms are moving from on-premise file servers to cloud storage platforms and backup systems.
We’ve covered this under local storage vs cloud storage.
After all, wouldn’t it be easier to be able to access documents and other types of files anytime and anywhere on any device?
Let’s face it; juggling clients’ files and protecting their privileges leads to tons of paperwork that might take a lot of your time.
Technology such as cloud computing can solve these issues by storing files such as invoices, reports, research documents, and other paperwork in the cloud for sharing, collaboration, and storage features.
It’s easier to store them online, so we’ve devised a list of the top secure cloud storage platforms for law firms and lawyers.
If you’re currently facing the fear of being hacked or accidentally providing access to your cloud storage, do not fret.
This article is here to assure you that the cloud storage platforms below are known for their security and reliability features with affordability in mind.
It’s business after all.
Why cloud storage is the best option for law firms and lawyers?
It’s no surprise that a lot of legal professionals and law practices are flocking to cloud-based storage systems instead of an on-site server in their offices, and there’s an excellent reason for it — some of the top cloud storage platforms offer the best security features.
Understandably, legal professions, including lawyers, handle sensitive files, and they mustn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Hence, robust cloud service platforms with excellent security features that make their workflow seamless can take care of this matter.
Security features such as SSL/TLS protocol, rest encryption, two-factor authentication, and ransomware protection protect your files and account during transit and at rest.
Fun Fact
Do you know that Onedrive’s home user never encrypt your files or data when in rest. The encryption at rest only available when you are their Enterprise user. Find out who’s the winner from our Google Drive vs Dropbox vs Onedrive here.
Moreover, some cloud storage services provide zero-knowledge encryption that ensures no one can read your files except for you.
Read our blog article to learn more about how zero-knowledge encryption works.
Dedicated Cloud Storage for Lawyers
Since law firms are known to be busy bees, this article will feature the top secured cloud storage services that are known to perform fast and provide a smooth and enjoyable user experience to boost productivity.
All in all, the listed cloud storage platforms below are so easy to use that you don’t even need to read the instructions to know how to use them.
It is also obvious that sharing features are vital as well as lawyers can collaborate with others and share their files easily in a secure manner.
Therefore, the lists below will elaborate on what are the available sharing features and options available and how secure they are.
Last but not least, cloud storage does offer content-control options such as password protection, permissions, and expiry dates on collaboration that could help to keep files more secure.
With that being said, let’s move to the list below.
5 Best Encrypted Cloud Storage Platforms for Lawyers
With so many cloud storage options available, it can be challenging to determine which is the best fit for lawyers and law firms.
We’ll take a look at the top five cloud storage solutions, highlighting their unique features and benefits, so you can choose the perfect solution for your legal needs.
1. pCloud
- Excellent & robust security features
- Generous free storage
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Client-side encryption
- Multi-layer protection
pCloud is a Switzerland-based company that is known to present accessible features and secure cloud storage solutions.
Established in September 2013, pCloud is proud of its security, and there’s a reason for it — they utilize state-of-the-art cloud encryption protection.
Overall, pCloud provides robust security, excellent ease-of-use features, and competent sharing options.
To guarantee your files’ protection, pCloud applies AES 256-bit encryption to safeguard files at rest and TLS/SSL protocol to safeguard files during transfer.
Moreover, when the files reach one of the pCloud data centers, they will create five different versions and distributes them to at least three different servers.
Further, to protect your files, you will have to use two-factor authentication to protect your account so no one can steal your credentials.
Their data centers are well protected with guards and 24/7 surveillance.
Using pCloud – Impression & Overall Experience
Moving on to the features, pCloud desktop is pretty easy to use.
It’s clear, intuitive, and straightforward to the point that all of your files will be at your fingertips.
Their collaboration tools are easy; all you have to do is add their emails or names, and they can immediately access the file or folder.
You can also allow them to upload files to your cloud through upload links.
You can also create passwords and set expiry dates to protect shared links, but these are only available in the premium plans.
However, these shared files are not encrypted with pCloud private encryption.
If you’re unsure about pCloud, you can always give it a try by signing up for their free plan, which provides you with a good solid 10GB of storage space.
It’s an excellent offer, and this is what makes pCloud one of the favorite cloud storage services globally.
However, here’s the downside of it — pCloud charges extra for its private encryption, pCloud Crypto.
This plan is great for freelance or contract lawyers that aren’t associated with a law firm.
For law firms, it is advisable to look into their business plans.
As a business firm, you can try pCloud free for 30 days. pCloud offers 1 TB storage and pCloud Crypto for each user in the business plan.
As you can see above, you can encrypt your sensitive files on any device and protect them.
The prices are reasonable as they offer zero-knowledge encryption, client-side encryption, and multi-layer protection, which is tight security according to them.
Therefore, it is advisable that you should consider purchasing pCloud Crypto.
Now, if you want to know more about pCloud, we suggest that you check out our in-depth article.
2. Sync.com
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- High-grade security
- Global data privacy compliance
- PIPEDA compliance
- Multi-layer protection
It’s no surprise that Sync.com is mentioned here.
Once again, Sync.com is one of the leading cloud storage platforms that offer outstanding features as well as robust privacy and security measures.
Similar to pCloud, Sync.com offers two-factor authentication to protect your id and password — so make use of that, if you plan to use either one of these two services.
As mentioned on their website, they are committed to protecting your privacy and security in the cloud.
They implement end-to-encryption and do not collect, share, or sell your files, including sharing the application usage information with advertisers or third parties.
They also enforce two-factor authentication, remote wipe, custom passwords, expiry dates, granular user permissions, and more to ensure that your files are well protected.
More importantly, Sync.com is in compliance with Global data privacy such as GDPR compliance, PIPEDA compliance, and HIPAA compliance.
Fast Fact:
HIPAA compliance is only available for the Business plan and not offered in the Personal Plan.
Sync.com also applies RAID architecture on its servers at its data centers to prevent hardware failure that can lead to data loss.
Moreover, these data centers are SOC 1 – certified.
Using Sync.com – Impression & Overall Experience
Sync.com’s desktop, web, and mobile applications are pretty easy to use.
Unfortunately, the desktop application is only available for Windows and macOS systems. It’s not available to be used on the Linux system, though.
Back to the features, its interface is fast and straightforward and you can easily figure out how to use it the moment you stumble on the application.
Similarly to pCloud, files and folders can be shared as links.
The only difference compared to pCloud is that Sync.com will encrypt the links, which is also offered on a free account.
You can send these links through an email or copy and paste them.
Even with the free account, you can set a password for those links, delete a link to discontinue sharing, and enable end-to-end encryption on those shared links.
You can also create ‘team folders,’ which are available on the web browser that allows you to create permissions such as read-and-write or read-only to further protect your files.
Sync.com mobile applications are available on Android and iOS.
You can use the app to upload images automatically to the cloud, access your files, even offline.
Personal & Business Plan
Sync.com offers a free plan that provides 5GB of free storage, which isn’t much, but privacy protection is part of the package.
If you ever want to upgrade, you can pick between Personal and Pro Solo. The Personal Plan provides 200GB for the cost of $60 per year, which is $5 per month. The Pro Solo plan provides 2TB for the price of $96 per year, which is $8 per month.
Again, this personal Plan is excellent for freelance lawyers.
For law firms, Sync.com offers three different Business Pro Plans:
- Solo Plan
Under the Solo plan, it offers 3TB of storage space for $10
per month, billed annually, which is $120 per year. However, this plan is only for one user, which can be used if you’re a freelance lawyer, but ideally, not great for a law firm.
- Teams Plan
Under the Teams plan, it offers storage space of up to 10 TB that can be used by between 2 to 100 users.
Their storage space and the price is flexible depending on the users in three different plans: 1TB for the cost of $5 per user, per month, 4TB for the value of $8 per user, per month, and 10TB for the price of $15 per user per month.
Quick Tip:
If you ever want to know the total amount, you can go to their site to get an accurate amount: https://www.sync.com/createaccount/?plan=signup-businesspro.
- Enterprise Plan
Under the Enterprise plan, the cost starts at $20 per user per month for custom storage for more than 100 users.
Regardless, Sync.com is reasonably cheap, easy to use, secured, and implements robust content-control options for sharing purposes.
After all, Sync.com is like Dropbox, but 100% private with more polished cloud storage for lawyers.
If you want to know more about this fantastic cloud storage service, read our Sync.com review.
3. Tresorit
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Two-factor authentication
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Strong sharing capabilities
- Multi-layer protection
Similar to the above two services, Tresorit is known for its robust armory of strong security features.
Because of these features, Tresorit is known to be very expensive.
But pricing shouldn’t be a concern for lawyers that need absolute security and confidentiality for their clients.
This makes Tresorit a perfect companion for cloud storage for lawyers.
Tresorit implements end-to-end encryption to guarantee the security of files in the cloud.
They perform AES 256-bit encryption to safeguard your files at rest, implement zero-knowledge encryption for your privacy, and enforce the TLS protocol to block attacks that target data during transfer.
Moreover, they also provide two-factor authentication to protect your account.
Additionally, Tresorit further encrypts your files by implementing cryptographic key sharing by providing encryption keys that can decrypt shared files that need to be shared between collaborators and provide client-side integrity protection that guarantees that the contents in the files cannot be modified without your knowledge, even if somebody hacks their system.
Fast Fact:
Tresorit keeps its servers in Microsoft Azure data centers located in the Netherlands and Ireland.
On top of that, Tresorit duplicates your files on various servers in a data center to reduce the risk of data loss and expand your files’ availability.
Using Tresorit – Impression & Overall Experience
Tresorit’s desktop application is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The application user experience is attractive, but it’s not very easy to use compared to the previous two above.
The reason is you need to create individual sync folders that are known as “tresors” to sync your files.
Both the web browser and desktop application allow you to share files and folders. You can share files with specific people by generating a link and sending it via email or copy and paste.
To share a folder, the concept is similar to sharing a file.
Besides the desktop application, Tresorit is available to be used on a web browser and a mobile application.
Compare to the desktop application, Tresorit’s web browser is easy to use because of the navigation features.
The mobile application is available on iOS and Android. You can use it to upload photos and videos from your phone, access your storage, and make files available for offline usage.
Mobility is an important criterion for cloud storage for lawyers as they are always on the move.
On top of that, the mobile app offers a passcode lock.
Individuals & Teams Plan
Tresorit’s prices may be high, but they do offer a free trial for you to use it.
The free trial ‘Basic’ plan comes with 3GB storage and can be used on 2 devices, which are under the individual Plan.
Under the individual Plan, there’s a Premium and a Solo plan.
The Premium plan offers 200 GB storage for 5 devices for the price of $10.42 per month, billed annually ($125.04 per year) or $12.50 per month.
The Solo plan offers 2TB for 10 devices for the cost of $24 per month, billed annually ($288 per year), or $30 per month.
If you require storage for a law firm, Tresorit does offer a different business plan.
Under the business plan, there are three offered plans: Small Business, Business, and Enterprise.
Under the Small Business plan, it offers $20 per month per user, billed annually, or $25 billed monthly for 1 TB of storage for each user. This Plan is only for teams with 2-9 people.
For the Business plan, it’s currently offering a 50% discount, which provides $20 per month per user, billed annually, or $15 billed monthly for firms with 10+ people.
Under the enterprise plan, which is suitable for large organizations with more than 100 people, it charges $24 per user per month, billed annually, or $30 billed monthly.
If you’re interested to know more about Tresorit, go ahead and read our review about it.
4. Mega.nz
- Exceptional in user experience simplicity
- Zero-knowledge security
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Strong sharing capabilities
- Multi-layer protection
MEGA is known for its robust security and privacy features that incorporate one of the best zero-knowledge encryption.
Their encryption structure allows you to have control over your cloud encryption keys — no prying eyes at all!
However, it doesn’t offer the best pricing plans.
They also utilize AES 128-bit encryption to mix files at rest, which isn’t as strong as AES 256-bit.
Nonetheless, it utilizes the TLS protocol to protect files during transfer. Similar to the other services mentioned above, two-factor authentication is available.
Besides its excellent security features, MEGA is known for its straightforward and engaging desktop and mobile application for users.
Using MEGA – Impression & Overall Experience
The desktop application is available on macOS, Windows, and Linux, whereas the mobile app is available on iOS and Android.
Similar to other services, you can access files, upload photos, and videos automatically on the mobile app, and make them available for offline use.
The web browser is also easy to use and you don’t need manual instructions to know how to use it.
Its features are similar to pCloud, Tresorit, and Sync.com. You can share your files with contacts directly or by creating a link and sending it.
Same concept for folders as well. If you want to use email, you can grant different levels of permissions, such as full access, read, or read-and-write.
Individual & Business Plan
MEGA offers 5 different plans in their individual Plan.
The free Plan starts with 50GB.
However, 15GB is the actual storage you can use as a free user while the additional 35GB will expire after one month of signup.
The other four plans are paid plans.
1. PRO-LITE
Beginning with the lowest price, which is 4.99 € per month, this Plan provides 200GB of storage and TB transfer.
2. PRO I
This Plan is also recommended by MEGA and the most popular option cost at 9.99 € per month that offers 1TB of storage and 2TB transfer.
3. PRO II
Priced at 19.99 € per month, this Plan provides 4TB storage and 8TB transfer.
4. PRO III
This Plan is priced at 29.99 € per month, offering 8TB storage and 16TB transfer.
In their business plan, MEGA offers 10€ per user per month, a minimum of 3 users.
The storage and transfer are unlimited, which is a great plan, unlike their individual plans.
Regardless of it, MEGA is great overall as cloud storage for lawyers, but it doesn’t meet the same expectations as pCloud or Sync.com provides in their prices.
MEGA is still considered young as it was launched in 2013 and let’s hope they will be able to rise to the same level as pCloud and Sync.com
If you ever want to know more about MEGA, catch up on our review.
5. Icedrive
- 10GB free plan
- Twofish Encryption
- Zero-knowledge encryption
- Client-Side Encryption
- SimpleWebsite Interface
Launched in 2018, this service is relatively new, but it offers a free 10GB plan for you to test out.
But what makes this service attractive is that they provide this free Plan with the Twofish encryption algorithm.
Icedrive offers great security features, but its sharing features are average so it won’t impress you much.
Considering Icedrive just started, it makes sense that it doesn’t provide a lot of features, unlike its other competitors.
That being said, it does provide sharing features and a sync feature, but it’s not as good as Sync.com or pCloud.
Using Icedrive – Impression & Overall Experience
At the moment, Icedrive desktop is only available for Windows, but it is simple and easy to use.
The web browser is straightforward and clear as well, as you can use the navigation menu to view your files, shared files, encrypted folders, and recent upload and deleted files.
Similarly to others, you can share files by generating a link and then sending it via email or copy and paste.
Once you created a link, you can set protection by creating a password and expiration date. The folder sharing works the same way.
Regarding the mobile app, it’s available for Android, which is a disadvantage for iPhone users.
As previously mentioned, Icedrive implements the Twofish algorithm as they claimed it is a better security solution than Rijndael or AES.
They also use an encryption passphrase to create 256-bit keys. What it does is creates them on the client side and does not transfer the keys to the server.
It makes your access a private one. They also implement the TLS/SSL protocol that will protect your files in transit from attacks.
More on Icedrive’s encryption details.
Despite the free Plan, the encryption benefit is not part of it except the TLS/SSL protocol.
It’s only available for premium plans. Icedrive also doesn’t provide two-factor authentication.
Subscription & Lifetime Plan
The premium plans are offered in 3 different paid options.
Monthly Plan
The Lite plan is not available under the monthly option, but the other two are. The Pro plan offers $4.99 per month or 1TB storage and 2TB monthly bandwidth, whereas the Pro + is priced at $17.99 /month for 5TB storage and 8TB monthly bandwidth.
Yearly Plan
The Lite plan presents $1.67 per month, which is $19.99 yearly for 150GB of storage and 250GB monthly bandwidth. The Pro plan offers $4.17 per month, which is $49.99 yearly for 1TB storage and 2TB monthly bandwidth. The Pro + is priced at $15.00 per month, which is $179.99 annually for 5TB storage and 8TB monthly bandwidth.
Lifetime Plan
This option presents slightly different pricing, which is you pay a one-time payment.
Again, Icedrive only offers one kind of a plan, unlike its competitors, who offer two different plans: individual and business.
Honorable Mention:
Speaking of lifetime cloud storage, our favorite will still be the pCloud Lifetime. Find out how much you are saving in the long terms with our saver calculator.
Therefore, this cloud storage for lawyers is perfect for freelancers and small law firms particularly.
Larger firms, on the other hand, may not benefit much because of collaboration and sharing capabilities.
But let’s not give up hope just yet, Icedrive is still young, and it may improve in specific areas that will up its ranking.
If you want in-depth information about Icedrive, GoodCloudStorage has a review for you.
Final Word – Confidentiality is vital for Lawyer’s Cliente
Selecting suitable cloud storage for law firms depends on lawyers and law firms based on their preference for security, storage space, and ease of use.
We hope that this list covered enough ground for you to decide which cloud storage for lawyers is the best for you.
pCloud and Sync.com come at the top of the list because of their superior security and excellent collaboration and sharing features.
Tresorit and MEGA, on the other hand, are decent choices as well, but they have flaws that sought-off separate them from being at the top.
Icedrive offers strong security features as well, but because they lack many features, it doesn’t equal its ranking with the others.
Above all, you can’t be too sure if things get out of the way, and if you need absolute control over your clients’ data, we would still advise you to go for NAS instead of cloud storage.