Case Study-Kiteworks Legal
Learn how Kiteworks’ Legal department uses Kiteworks to protect contracts, certifications and other sensitive information with customers and vendors.
Giving Corporate Legal the Tools to Work More Securely, Effectively, and Intelligently
Moving the Business Forward, One Legal Document at a Time
A Corporate Legal department functions similarly to a law firm in that both organizations are expected to mitigate risk. They also each represent clients, are experts in the laws that regulate businesses, and produce, receive, share, and maintain ownership of sensitive information.
Kiteworks’ Legal department is no exception. It’s a small but nimble organization, and Contracts Manager Mehreen Mir is the linchpin that keeps the company’s extensive legal activities organized and moving forward. She supports Kiteworks’ core business in several ways. She executes non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), shares security documents with prospective customers, and reviews and negotiates license agreements. In her free time(!), Mehreen supports the Finance department with customer queries, auditing, and vendor contracts. This is just a snapshot.
“I keep a lot of plates spinning,” Mehreen laughs. “Each department has different legal requirements, but the one common theme is protecting the business. If I can do that in a timely manner, even better!”
Mehreen also supports Kiteworks’ acting general counsel who handles litigation matters. She also routinely collaborates with the company’s external counsel who advises on licensing contracts like Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) and Business Associate Agreements (BAAs), as well as contract negotiations for major accounts.
Protecting Sensitive Content Mitigates Risk and Provides Valuable Insight
Mehreen couldn’t do her job efficiently without Kiteworks. “The core function of my job boils down to sending, receiving, and collaborating on sensitive legal documents with external partners like customers, vendors, and consultants. Traditional email is widely regarded as unsecure. Popular file sharing services like OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox are even worse. Kiteworks, however, was engineered specifically for this type of work.”
Mehreen utilizes Kiteworks’ secure email and secure shared folders capabilities almost equally. When a customer requests to review Kiteworks’ security certifications for SOC 2, IRAP, FedRAMP, or other regulation or
“When I can see who downloaded a document and when, I know who specifically is thinking about Kiteworks, and when they’re thinking about us. It’s a really powerful tool.”
– Mehreen Mir,
Contracts Manager
Case Study
Giving Corporate Legal the Tools to Work More Securely, Effectively, and Intelligently
standard, Mehreen leverages Kiteworks’ secure shared folders. She creates a folder in Kiteworks, uploads the requested documents, provides customer collaborators permission to access the documents, and then notifies them the documents are available for viewing and downloading. Mehreen prefers to use secure shared folders for this use case so she can monitor who accesses the documents and when they download them.
If Mehreen needs to send a signed or counter-signed contract to an internal colleague or external partner, she uses Kiteworks’ secure email capability. Mehreen explains her thinking, “While the collaborative part of contract negotiations has concluded, the document still contains sensitive information and therefore must be secured. The document is protected in multiple ways: It’s encrypted in transit and at rest and can only be accessed by multi-factor authentication so only the intended recipient can read the email.
“Shared folders, by contrast, is more collaborative,” Mehreen continues. “For example, if a customer asks for an important document to help them make a business decision involving Kiteworks, I can accommodate their request by setting up a folder where they can get everything they need in one convenient location. Convenience isn’t the only benefit. When I can see who downloaded a document and when, I know who specifically is thinking about Kiteworks, and when they’re thinking about us. It’s a really powerful tool.”
Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk
While Mehreen is an internal user, she perfectly embodies Kiteworks’ target customer: any professional or organization who sends, shares, receives, or saves sensitive content and needs to govern and protect it. Mehreen in fact sees her use of Kiteworks as both an endorsement of and an advertisement for the platform. “If I share a cofidential document with someone who isn’t a customer, I see it as an opportunity to educate them,” she says. “Kiteworks isn’t just our product, it’s a best practice for securing and tracking some of our company’s and clients’ most sensitive information. We use it to protect our own sensitive information. What more needs to be said?”
Needs
- Securely share intellectual property like security and compliance documents with customers
- Track who accesses documents and when to ensure projects stay on track
- Send legal documents internally and externally with employees, customers, and outside counsel
Kiteworks Solution
- Secure shared folders for sharing and tracking downloads of security certificates and other sensitive supporting documents
- Secure email capability for sending executed contracts
- Full audit trail to track who accesses and downloads confidential Kiteworks documents
Business Impact
- Eliminates reliance on unsecure Microsoft Outlook for email and OneDrive for file sharing
- Ensures highly confidential legal documents like contracts and litigation materials are protected from unauthorized access
- Provides full visibility and auditability of every legal document sent, shared, or received
- Enables Legal department to see who accesses security and compliance certifications, an indication of customer interest in purchasing Kiteworks or adding additional licenses
“Kiteworks isn’t just our product, it’s a best practice for securing and tracking some of our company’s and clients’ most sensitive information. We use it to protect our own sensitive information. What more needs to be said?”
– Mehreen Mir,
Contracts Manager
