Risk and Compliance as Competitive Advantage: A&O Highlights New ISO 27001 Certification

Last week, Allen & Overy made a very public announcement that it has received ISO 27001 certification in the US for its confidentiality management practices. What’s fascinating is the firm’s aggressive use of certification as a competitive differentiator:

• "[Our] firm stays ahead of competitors on information security with prestigious certification…"
• CIO Gareth Ash adds: "We are leading the pack on information security. This certification provides real business benefits when working with our clients and future clients, especially within the financial industry."

With clients issuing stricter guidelines, asking tougher questions on RFPs, and even commissioning audits of their law firms, it’s easy to understand why a firm would emphasize its capabilities and advantage.

Allen & Overy selected IntApp Wall Builder in 2010 to support its internal confidentiality efforts. Speaking at the time, the firm’s head of risk and compliance noted:

• "We made a strategic decision to adopt technology controls to help us manage information barrier and wider client confidentiality issues and in particular to enhance our ability to monitor and audit compliance. We selected Wall Builder because it's a mature product that has been widely adopted by law firms, and because IntApp possesses the necessary expertise and could demonstrate success working with large, global firms to address information barrier and client confidentiality requirements."

Commenting on the recent ISO announcement, Pat Archbold, head of IntApp’s risk practice group, writes: "We’re seeing continuing law firm interest in ISO 27001 and have developed solutions that enable law firms to accelerate their compliance certification efforts. I happy to share more detail with readers who’d like to get in touch directly at: Pat.Archbold@intapp.com."