High-stakes demands and law firm structure may be creating a breeding ground for risky data handling. 

The "Insider Data Breach Survey 2020″ survey of 5,000 employees in companies employing 100-plus across the U.S., U.K. and Europe found that 57% of respondents in the legal sector said they intentionally put data at risk. The survey was conducted by Opinion Matters and commissioned by email security software company Egress Software Technologies.

Michael Hamilton, co-founder of cybersecurity company CI Security, said that disregard can be explained by understanding how law firm hierarchy places the needs of high-performing attorneys above some cybersecurity recommendations.

"They are the money-makers, they have a long leash," he said.

The survey also noted that 56% of employees in the legal sector said they or a colleague accidentally broke company policy and put data at risk.

To be sure, legal professionals aren't flagrantly disregarding data privacy best practices. Instead, the fast pace of law may cause some in legal to forgo best practices to meet client demand.

"Because lawyers are so obsessed with being responsive to the courts and clients, that may lead to some bad data hygiene practices," said Blackstone Law Group partner and information security lawyer Alexander Urbelis.

Additionally, law firms' business structure doesn't embrace extensive spending to continuously improve a law firm's data security, Urbelis argued. He said equity partners might be hesitant to purchase and maintain robust cybersecurity tools and provide ongoing training to staff and lawyers when it subtracts from the profits partners share with fellow shareholders.

Still, Urbelis noted that Am Law 100 firms received a "major wake-up call" to improve their data security after the Panama Papers leak, in which law firm Mossack Fonseca was breached and its documents exposing international corruption were released to the public.

While the Panama Papers taught Big Law how important cybersecurity is, according to observers the message hasn't entirely trickled down to smaller law firms.

"It's the smaller independent guys not part of a named recognizable firm; IT is their last consideration, and that's how they get in trouble," Hamilton said.

He added that law firms' trove of insider data held by professionals who lack cybersecurity expertise creates an appetizing opportunity for hackers. "They work with a lot of clients' intellectual property, personal data and details about very embarrassing lawsuits, [which] makes them a bigger target."

While mishaps with data aren't unique to the legal industry, the repercussions are perhaps more lethal, said Egress CEO and co-founder Tony Pepper.

"Where it really affects legal is the reputational damage for law firms if they're communicating client information," Pepper said.

"That trust is instantly broken when the client's information is being shared accidentally with other clients, the impact on legal is enormous and one of the things we're trying to bring into the light," he added.