What technology should a law firm assess before signing a lease or opening a new office?

GDS Technology Law Firms Desk

Before signing a lease or opening a law office, assess internet service, cabling routes, network and Wi-Fi coverage, identity controls, phone systems, legal applications, backup, and building technology. Confirm who owns each dependency, what the space can support, and how essential work will be tested before move-in. Resolve infrastructure constraints while the lease and buildout are still being planned.

What should the firm inspect in the space before committing?

Start with conditions that may be expensive or disruptive to change later: where internet service enters the building, whether providers can serve the exact suite, how cabling can reach work areas, and where network equipment can be housed. Ask about cable pathways, risers, demarcation points, equipment-room access, power, cooling, and landlord approval requirements.

Walk the space with a floor plan. Mark likely locations for desks, conference rooms, printers, wireless access points, phones, cameras, and access-control equipment. A room that looks ready for a client meeting may still have weak wireless coverage, awkward cable routes, or no practical place for the equipment that supports it.

In a multi-tenant building, distinguish landlord-controlled systems from tenant equipment and third-party services. Record who grants access, what approvals are required, and how much notice vendors need. This helps the firm tell the difference between an IT issue and a building constraint before either becomes a move-in surprise.

Include technology dependencies in the project schedule before construction and furniture decisions are final. Carrier installation, cabling, equipment placement, and testing may depend on other trades or property approvals. Coordinate those decisions with the lease and buildout team rather than leaving them until the office looks finished.

Use a simple site-walk checklist to turn observations into assigned work:

• Identify the internet service entry point, available pathways, and any landlord-controlled approvals.
• Mark equipment locations and confirm power, cooling, physical access, and cable reach.
• Map work areas, conference rooms, and likely wireless access-point locations.
• Record building systems, vendors, access requirements, and unresolved constraints.

Inspect the space and document its constraints before signing.

Which connectivity and communications should the firm verify?

Confirm available internet providers and service options for the exact building and suite, not just the street address. Ask what installation work is required, whether the provider needs landlord access, and where service will hand off to the firm's network. An availability result is not proof that a circuit is installed, active, or ready for business.

Map the connection to actual legal work: reaching matter documents, using practice-management and billing tools, accessing client portals, joining video meetings, using cloud email, and connecting remotely where permitted. Include conference rooms and private offices in the plan. Test representative work instead of relying on one speed reading to declare the office ready.

Assess wired connections and Wi-Fi where confidential work will take place. Plan employee and guest access separately, and account for printers, conference-room systems, phones, and other connected devices. The design should show which devices are managed, who can connect them, and how the firm will track changes.

Review phone numbers, call routing, voicemail, emergency calling, and continuity arrangements with the provider. Confirm what must happen to existing numbers during a move and how staff will make and receive calls if the office connection is unavailable. A missed client call can disrupt work just as surely as an inaccessible document.

GDS Technology's service offering includes managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud services, and communications.

Connectivity is ready only when the firm has tested the work it depends on.

How should the firm plan cybersecurity and physical access?

Define how attorneys, staff, visitors, vendors, and departing employees receive and lose access. Consider building entry, suite access, network accounts, cloud applications, remote sessions, shared mailboxes, and device credentials. Assign an owner to each access change and establish a reliable way to confirm that it was completed.

Before choosing cameras or access-control equipment, clarify what the building already provides, who administers it, and what permissions tenants have. Establish where cameras may be placed, who may view recordings, how credentials are issued, and which vendor handles support. Coordinate these decisions with property management and the firm's own policies.

Security also depends on ordinary network decisions made during a buildout. Separate guest access from business use, limit administrative permissions, require appropriate authentication, and maintain an inventory of connected devices. Plan secure remote access and file sharing around the firm's work so attorneys are less likely to rely on informal workarounds.

Bring application vendors into the assessment early. Clarify who manages identity, updates, support, data export, and access when someone joins or leaves the firm. Email, document management, practice tools, e-discovery, and client exchange may involve different providers. Do not let responsibility sit in the gaps between contracts.

A client example shows why follow-through matters. Kawal Kaur, a professional services client, said, "GDS followed up the next day to make sure the door sensor issue is resolved. That kind of attention shows real customer service." For an office opening, the same discipline means confirming that a reported access or security issue is actually resolved.

Security works best when physical access, accounts, and network ownership are clearly coordinated.

Which applications, data, and recovery dependencies matter?

List the services needed for a normal workday. For each one, record the provider, business owner, sign-in method, support contact, and data arrangement where known. Include document management, email and collaboration, practice management, billing, conflicts, timekeeping, e-discovery, secure file exchange, and printing.

For each critical workflow, ask what happens if the office, internet circuit, cloud service, or user account becomes unavailable. Identify an approved alternate way to work, who decides when to use it, and which provider is responsible for restoring service. Cloud hosting alone does not tell the firm how to continue work during an interruption.

Clarify what data is backed up, how restoration is requested, who may authorize it, and how staff will confirm that restored files and systems are usable. Set priorities around actual legal work: reaching matter documents, communicating with clients, and meeting filing or transaction deadlines. A backup plan must be understood and tested, not merely listed in a proposal.

Coordinate retention, litigation holds, and matter access with the firm's records and legal processes. During a move or migration, identify the authoritative copy and control access rather than creating unnecessary duplicate stores. Ask vendors to explain their responsibilities and the firm's options if a service changes or ends.

For more on planning recovery responsibilities, see the firm's disaster recovery planning resources.

Document recovery responsibilities before move day, not during an interruption.

How can the firm compare proposals and confirm readiness?

Compare proposals by scope and ownership, not only by equipment lists. Request written details of what is included and excluded, what depends on the landlord or carrier, who coordinates vendors, and what testing and handoff records the firm will receive. Separate installation work from ongoing support so project completion is not mistaken for long-term management.

Use an acceptance checklist tied to real work. Before attorneys move in, verify that staff can sign in, reach approved applications and matter documents, print, make and receive calls, use conference rooms, and connect remotely where permitted. Confirm support contacts, escalation steps, and how access changes will be handled.

Keep records of network and cabling layouts, device inventory, service-provider contacts, account ownership, support arrangements, and unresolved issues. Assign an owner and due date to each open dependency. The handoff should give the firm enough information to operate and maintain what was installed, not just a list of equipment.

For buildout planning, review structured cabling and low-voltage services. For security considerations, see cybersecurity services for law firms.

GDS Technology provides managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud services, communications, structured cabling, and physical security. Its team works with organizations across Georgia and Indiana and supports clients nationally. A practical first step is to map one sensitive workflow, identify its building and vendor dependencies, and decide how it will be tested before the move deadline.

A written readiness plan gives the firm a clear basis for accepting the new office.

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