Law firms are high-value targets for GDPR enforcement because they process large volumes of sensitive personal data — including health records, financial information, and details about criminal proceedings.
**Essential GDPR Requirements for Law Firms**
**1. Legal Basis for Processing (Art. 6 GDPR)**
- Document your legal basis for each category of data processing
- For clients: contract performance or legitimate interests
- For marketing: explicit consent
**2. Data Processing Register (Art. 30 GDPR)**
- Maintain a record of all processing activities
- Include: data categories, purposes, recipients, retention periods
**3. Privacy Notice (Art. 13-14 GDPR)**
- Update your client intake forms and website
- Clearly explain what data you collect and why
**4. Data Processor Agreements (Art. 28 GDPR)**
- Sign DPAs with all software providers (including LexOS)
- Review third-party processors annually
**5. Retention and Deletion Policy**
- German law: legal files must be retained for 6 years after case closure (§ 50 BRAO)
- Delete data you no longer need
- Document your retention schedule
**6. Breach Response Plan (Art. 33 GDPR)**
- 72-hour notification to supervisory authority
- Designate a data protection contact person
- Test your breach response procedure annually
**7. Data Subject Rights**
- Process access requests within 30 days
- Have a process for rectification, erasure, and portability requests
Failure to comply can result in fines up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover.