We consider our services to be a critical mission, therefore, all our technological architecture was structured with a focus on security and availability, designed exactly for those who need access.
Leonardo Brandileone
Director of the Technology and Knowledge area
At a time when information and data circulate in an increasingly broad and fast manner, it is essential that activities such as the practice of law are ensured by a strict process of confidentiality and security of access to documents and files. To this end, Mattos Filho invests annually in technologies that meet the most modern rules of the national and international market to guarantee to clients that their information is protected by a robust structure of security which, at the same time, allows agility and effectiveness in meeting deadlines by professionals.
The focus is always on bringing a clear perception of the measures that ensure security for both internal and external information. “It is the nature of legal practice to handle confidential business information for our clients, such as the creation of a product or information about new investment opportunities. That is why the concern with information security is so relevant ”, comments Thiago Sombra, partner of the Tech Mattos Filho and Compliance areas.
“Companies need to have the certainty and peace of mind that they are counting on a firm that has a sufficiently structured data protection governance with considerable and constant investments and training for professionals related to these activities, in addition to the ability to permanently measure security levels in the face of constant risks, threats, and vulnerabilities through penetration tests, implementation of new systems and monitoring of market trends ”, he adds.
In the last three years, the digital transformation process has been accelerated at Mattos Filho. The investment in the technology infrastructure, acquisition of external programs and solutions, and also the development of the firm’s own systems and applications are among the measures endorsed by the firm.
It is the nature of legal practice to handle confidential business information for our clients, such as the creation of a product or information about new investment opportunities. That is why the concern with information security is so relevant.
Thiago Sombra
Partner of the Tech Mattos Filho and Compliance areas
Additionally, the firm sought to ally itself with strategic partners certified by ISO 27000, a standard that is the international reference for information security management systems used by the largest business organizations in the world. The goal is to position Mattos Filho at the forefront of the legal market when it comes to innovation and security. “We try to have a very consistent technology plan that fully meets the client’s needs,” says Leonardo Brandileone, director of the Technology and Knowledge area.
For Leonardo, investment in the area reinforces the belief that the firm has in the strategy that technology cooperates to enable new businesses, processes, and ways of working. “We consider our services to be a critical mission, therefore, all our technological architecture was structured with a focus on security and availability, designed exactly for those who need access”, he explains.
Currently, Mattos Filho has an exclusive datacenter, hybrid architecture, private and public cloud, and uses its own and hired programs, as well as restricted and controlled access to internal environments and corporate networks. Furthermore, the firm strengthened its investment in mobile solutions, which allow faster communication for decision making.
Internally, the concern is to maintain the teams’ level of attention to the correct and effective use of systems and programs. To this end, the firm develops a series of initiatives ranging from recurring training and retraining to working in partnership with external consultants to assess possible risks and vulnerabilities in networks, systems, and communications.
Still regarding the strategy of digital transformation, Leonardo Brandileone reveals that the firm works on initiatives that seek to ensure that innovation is a relevant and continuous impact factor. “This has allowed a leap in efficiency, productivity, and quality and it has come to support the development of the teams’ work, in different formats and occasions”, he says.
One of Mattos Filho’s current focuses is to ensure a secure flow of access to data in internal work structures. For this reason, the firm extensively monitors the computer network and documents, the hierarchy, and access control.
In the scope of service management, one of Mattos Filho’s current focuses is to ensure a secure flow of access to data in internal work structures. For this reason, the firm extensively monitors the computer network and documents, the hierarchy, and access control, in addition to using monitoring systems for deadlines and communications, always ensuring confidentiality in the process and information procedures.
“Our goal is to optimize time and minimize risks, so that technology allows lawyers to dedicate themselves to advising the client, details of documents, suits, and strategies”, details Brandileone.
The adoption of a “technological layer” under all processes made it possible for team management to become much simpler and to fit in the palm of a hand since everything is connected and interconnected online. “This brought an increase of at least 30% in efficiency for the firm”, he calculates.
Within a reality in which remote access has become almost mandatory, investment in security and availability measures remains a priority. Currently, the Technology and Knowledge team has more than 90 professionals dedicated full time to offer an increasingly dynamic and safe experience for clients and work teams.
Mattos Filho has catalogued and digitized this entire collection in order to secure dynamic access to information. In all, the documents form a 20 terabyte file, composed of 10 million files and 37 thousand folders, fully identified and tracked for access control.
As information security also includes physical documents, Mattos Filho has an exclusive space to store physical files. The environment, which follows strict international standards, has access control, cameras, and protection against fires and floods.
In parallel, work was carried out to catalog and digitize this entire collection in order to secure dynamic access to information. In all, the documents form a 20 terabyte file, composed of 10 million files and 37 thousand folders, fully identified and tracked for access control. This total amount does not consider emails and documents previously stored in the legal document management (GED) systems. Emails, in turn, remain replicated in real-time to websites in other locations.
Working with cloud systems is also a priority. Mattos Filho was the first large Brazilian law firm to migrate emails to the cloud. Since then, innovation, availability, and security have gone hand in hand. Securely and remotely, professionals can access tools such as Office 365, GED, timesheet solutions, and procedural progress systems. All this so that teams have quick access to information and, consequently, agility in decision making, which keeps the service and relationship with the client at a constant level of excellence.
Imposed reality: how Mattos Filho continues to serve with excellence during the pandemic
With the background of always considering information security, innovation, and technology as strategic priorities, Mattos Filho is ready to face scenarios that demand urgent and fast changes. An example of this has been the response given to the communication, relationship, and service challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Starting from a task force that mapped the entire internal structure and procedures, as well as critical points, Mattos Filho was able to replicate all processes and accesses of the teams to the remote environment, which allowed total security and efficiency in access to programs and documents for the approximately 1,400 professionals.
“We were already using the most modern technology on the market and historically we have invested in the ability to replicate and expand our technology structure, so we were able to bring a new way of working in record time, ensuring business continuity without compromising the security of our information,” says Brandileone.
Mattos Filho is prepared for the future of security and data sharing
It is a huge cultural change for a country that has always lived with sectoral laws and of limited enforcement. Now, for the first time in history, we will have comprehensive legislation that will encompass all sectors of the economy and any method of data collection”
Fabio Kujawski
Partner of the Data Protection and Cybersecurity and Tech Mattos Filho practices
Once the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) comes into force, Brazil will take a major leap concerning how the information of clients and professionals will be handled and protected.
Watchful of this subject, the anticipation of actions is a natural aspect of the firm, which has always considered confidentiality and information security as priorities of its performance. Furthermore, the similarities between the LGPD and the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation, 2016) contributed to many advances taking place in an agile and anticipated manner, considering the firm’s familiarity with European legislation, mainly due to the London office. The close monitoring from the team of specialists was another relevant factor that contributed to the rapid progress still in the early stages of the discussions on compliance with the Brazilian law.
From a legal point of view, Fabio Kujawski, partner of the Data Protection and Cybersecurity and Tech Mattos Filho practices, says that all internal firm processes were individually revisited. This includes both client information and data from professionals and partners managed by the Human Development area. “It is a huge cultural change for a country that has always lived with sectoral laws (bank, consumer, medical, professional, and internet) and of limited enforcement. Now, for the first time in history, we will have comprehensive legislation that will encompass all sectors of the economy and any method of data collection”, he explains.
Still under the perspective of data and information management, which has always been among Mattos Filho’s main priorities, Kujawski says that the firm has been working on adaptation processes for more than two years and how much the new reality will positively impact the market in a global way. “With the LGPD, any company that collects personal information will have to create a governance system capable of controlling the legality of the processing of such data. Here at Mattos Filho, we are ready to act with excellence in the upcoming reality”, he concludes.
