Role-based access control assigns permissions to defined roles rather than to individuals, and users inherit permissions from the roles they hold. Common legal roles include partner, associate, paralegal, litigation support, and administrator.
It implements the principle of least privilege, granting the minimum access needed to perform a function.
Alternative Names:
RBAC, Role-Based Permissions
Why it Matters?
Role-based control alone is insufficient for law firms, because the relevant boundary is usually the matter rather than the job function. An associate should see the matters they are staffed on, not every matter an associate could access. Firms handling adverse parties or maintaining ethical walls need matter-level permissions layered on top of roles, and evaluating a system on roles alone misses that requirement.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is role-based access enough for a law firm?
What is least privilege?
