What Law Offices Should Look for in a Shredding Company
In the realm of legal practices, where countless documents exist for a lifetime, the importance of securely discarding files at the end of their lifecycle cannot be overstated. Law offices often house a treasure trove of sensitive and personally identifiable information (PII), making it imperative to partner with a professional shredding company. But what criteria should law offices consider when selecting a shredding service? Here are five vital factors:
1. Are They Familiar with Compliance Laws?
Law offices must adhere to specific data security and privacy regulations. A reliable shredding company should understand this unique regulatory landscape, ensuring alignment with the pertinent laws governing your business.
2. Do They Maintain a Secure Chain of Custody?
The process of document shredding must be impeccably secure from start to finish. A reputable shredding company will assist in maintaining security by providing locked shred collection containers for immediate protection upon discarding. This security extends through regular pickups by document destruction specialists, ensuring the material remains safeguarded until it reaches the shredders. To finalize the chain of custody, a Certificate of Destruction should be provided as proof of secure handling and destruction of private information by a third-party company.
3. Can They Provide Hard Drive & Media Shredding?
Beyond paper files, digital data also requires secure destruction. A professional shredding company should offer hard drive and media destruction to destroy various mediums containing private information in digital format, including:
- Hard drives
- CDs and DVDs
- Flash, USB and thumb drives
- Backup magnetic tapes
- Floppy disks
- Solid state drives
- Microfilm and microfiche
Complete shredding of these devices is crucial to prevent data theft from the residual information that might still be retrievable.
4. Do They Have a Solid Reputation?
Reviews and testimonials offer insight into a shredding company’s credibility. Look for feedback from businesses that have used their services to gauge their reliability and efficiency. A company’s reputation, as vouched for by experienced customers, can be a key indicator of their service quality.
5. Do They Recycle 100% of Your Shredded Material?
Effective shredding isn’t complete until all shredded material is properly recycled. A responsible shredding company ensures that paper from documents or metals from drives are recycled, contributing to sustainability be reducing landfill waste and conserving resources.
At ShredLink, we specialize in compliant paper and hard drive/media shredding, ensuring adherence to all privacy laws. Our services include secure collection containers tailored to fit your office space. If you are looking for a reputable shredding company for your law office, call us at 504-885-0186 or complete the form on this page.