As legal teams become increasingly global, the conversation around offshore talent is evolving. Access to experienced professionals remains important, but for law firms and in-house legal teams considering a distributed workforce, another question carries equal weight: how can confidential information remain protected when legal work is being handled across borders?
Teams Squared, the Singapore-headquartered Alternative Legal Service Provider (ALSP) connecting law firms and in-house legal teams across Australia, the UK, the US and beyond with top legal talent from emerging markets, has taken a significant step in addressing that question by achieving ISO/IEC 27001 certification. The internationally recognized standard for information security management was awarded to Teams Squared Pte Ltd by Universal Quality Standards Registrar (UQSR), following an independent audit of the company’s Information Security Management System (ISMS).
For Teams Squared, the certification applies directly to the way its remote talent model operates. Its scope covers the lifecycle of a consultant’s engagement, from recruitment, shortlisting, and onboarding through to placement and offboarding. Associated HR processes, remote work training, and the secure provisioning and de-provisioning of devices are also included. In preparing for certification, the company documented these activities in depth, establishing clear procedures around areas such as device procurement, access, provisioning and offboarding. The result is a consistent approach to managing security from the moment a consultant enters the Teams Squared ecosystem through to the conclusion of an engagement.
That structure is important because information security is not static. ISO 27001 certification is awarded following an independent assessment of an organization’s controls, policies and processes against the ISO standard’s requirements, and maintaining certification involves ongoing surveillance audits. By turning critical security procedures into documented and repeatable processes, rather than relying on informal practices, Teams Squared has created an ISMS that can continue to develop as its operations expand and security expectations change.
This is particularly relevant in legal services, where confidentiality is fundamental to the relationship between a firm and its clients. Legal professionals may have access to privileged communications, sensitive client matters, commercial agreements, and personal data. Whether those professionals are sitting in the same office as the rest of the team or working remotely from another jurisdiction, the responsibility to protect that information remains.
For law firm partners, legal team owners and senior management, the certification therefore provides something more tangible than an assurance that security is taken seriously. It provides an independently assessed, internationally recognized framework against which Teams Squared’s information security practices can be considered. It can also support the due diligence clients undertake when engaging external providers, providing a recognized reference point for security questionnaires and professional-indemnity requirements.
It also speaks to one of the recurring considerations around offshore engagement: maintaining control across geographically distributed teams. Teams Squared’s security practices are governed by a single certified management system across its operations, meaning the framework protecting client information does not change simply because a legal professional is based in a different location.
‘For law firms, security is not simply an IT concern. It is fundamental to the trust they place in every partner who has access to their systems and information. Achieving ISO 27001 certification demonstrates that our security practices are built around a recognized international standard, with the controls, processes and accountability to support that commitment. For our clients, particularly those working with us offshore, it provides additional assurance that distance does not mean a compromise in how their data and technology are protected,’ said Akil Fernando, IT Systems Lead at Teams Squared.
Founded in 2023, Teams Squared operates from offices in Singapore, Australia and Sri Lanka and serves a global client base by embedding remote legal professionals within international teams. As its footprint continues to grow, the company sees establishing internationally recognized operational standards as an important part of building a business capable of supporting leading professional services firms globally.
‘We’ve always believed that building a global company requires global standards. Achieving ISO 27001 certification is another step in building Teams Squared into an organization that the world’s leading professional services firms can trust with critical parts of their operations. Growth matters to us, but building the right infrastructure underneath that growth matters just as much,’ said Amresh Selvaskandan, Co-Founder and COO of Teams Squared.
For more information about Teams Squared and its services, visit www.teamsquared.io or contact [email protected].