Data minimisation: 10 things to know to protect your clients’ data

Key questions to ask before you share data

Before sharing any information with a service provider – such as an investigator – it’s important to start by asking yourself three things.

What personal data does the service provider need to know – what is essential to the instructions?

What should the service provider know – what is helpful to the investigation?

What could the service provider know – what is relevant and necessary?

Why data minimisation is crucial

There are a host of benefits to bear in mind and risks to mitigate when you’re considering data minimisation.

1. Protecting client confidentiality

It’s your duty to protect client confidentiality, so only disclose information that’s necessary for providing legal services.

By minimising the data shared with an investigation service provider, you can reduce the risk of unauthorised disclosure or misuse of sensitive information.

2. Compliance with data protection laws

Often, data protection laws require organisations to only collect and process data that’s necessary for a specific purpose.

Data minimisation means lawyers and investigation service providers can stay compliant and avoid any legal consequences.

3. Reducing security risks

The more data collected and stored, the greater the risk in the case of a data breach.

Data minimisation helps reduce the amount of sensitive information that’s at risk. This enhances the overall security stance of your organisation and the investigation service provider.

4. Cost efficiency

Storing and managing large volumes of data can be costly.

By minimising the amount of data collected and processed during an investigation, you will reduce the cost of the storage and maintenance of unnecessary data.

5. Focus on relevant information

Data minimisation helps focus the investigation on relevant information that’s essential for building a case or providing legal advice.

By avoiding the collection of irrelevant data, lawyers and investigation service providers can streamline investigations and reach conclusions more efficiently.

6. Maintaining trust and credibility

Data minimisation shows your commitment to respecting privacy and confidentiality, which can help build trust with clients, witnesses and other parties in the case.

Clients are more likely to put their trust in firms who handle their data responsibly, by collecting and sharing only necessary details.

7. Enhancing data accuracy and quality

Focusing on collecting only relevant data can lead to better data accuracy and improved quality.

By minimising irrelevant or redundant information, lawyers and investigation service providers can ensure that the data being analysed is reliable and supports informed decision-making.

8. Safeguarding against data misuse

The more data collected and stored, the greater the risk of data misuse or unauthorised access.

Minimising data reduces the exposure of sensitive information, making it easier to monitor and control access throughout an investigation process.

9. Streamlining data management and retrieval

Managing large volumes of data can be complex and time-consuming.

Minimising this data means lawyers and investigation service providers can streamline data management processes. This will help teams organise, search and retrieve information when needed.

10. Respecting individual rights

Data minimisation supports privacy and data protection by ensuring people’s personal information is handled with care and only used legitimately. This demonstrates a commitment to ethical data practices.

Remember – an effective data minimisation strategy isn’t just a legal requirement, it protects both your client and your practice’s reputation.