The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) doesn't officially touch down until January 1, 2020, but law firms have long since begun offering internally-built compliance apps geared towards helping client's transition into full compliance. But could there be a better—or at least cheaper—way?

Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck thinks so. Last week, the firm announced that it had entered into a partnership with the secure systems and solutions provider EC Wise to provide hands-on assistance to clients who still need help before they can claim mastery of the CCPA. The firm will handle legal issues related to policies or vendor contracts, while EC Wise will fill in the gaps around data security and deletion.

Katherine Catlos, a partner at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, stressed that the technical experience EC Wise brought to the table when it came to helping companies secure data was not something that was not necessarily in deep supply at the firm.

"I think other law firms probably have tech inside, in-house, that can assist with these sort of things, but our firm doesn't and so it seemed like it was the right thing to do," Catlos said.

To be sure, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck isn't alone in looking for an alternative to building tech in-house.

Tomu Johnson, an attorney with Parsons Behle & Latimer and CEO of its subsidiary, Parsons Behle Lab, noted that while many firms are increasingly examining the option of producing their own tech, the expenditure of resources needed to successfully assemble a team and bring a product to market can be a splash of cold water.

"I think that the costs are largely out of reach for most law firms," Johnson said.

Partnerships in the vain of EC Wise and Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck circumvent such a hefty investment because there isn't a "product" or a technological framework that needs to be built first in order to facilitate the service. This is also something that may better suit the needs of the middle-market companies the partnership is looking to address, many of whom may be at the beginning of their compliance journeys and require more hands-on services now that the CCPA is only a little more than 3-months out.

Per Catlos, many of the people that Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck speaks with are still largely unfamiliar with the regulation, possibly because they don't think it will apply to them. 

"I think that what's helpful in having a company that's familiar with privacy and security is taking the steps to make sure that the data is secure and that the appropriate patches are there and following the data lifecycle," Catlos said.

Parsons Behle & Latimer's Johnson agreed, adding that he believes that such partnerships will provide a viable alternative to firms unable to produce their own tech, and expects to see more of them moving forward.

However, he said that doesn't preclude a spot in the ecosystem for law firm-produced apps like Parson's own CCPA IQ, which uses a series of questions to help customers generate compliance-related documents. In that instance, paying a law firm to perform those tasks on an on-going basis might be more costly than the one-time investment of the app.

"[Law firm] service hours are going to be much more structured than they would be without the app in the first place," Johnson said.