A case on how securing legal data with Power BI Governance gave clarity, control, and confidence with smarter reporting.
The Client
The client is a global law firm with a strong presence across key U.S., Asia, Europe, and the Middle East cities. Known for advising on complex cross-border legal matters, the firm serves diverse industries, including energy, finance, real estate, and technology. With a reputation for innovation and a long-standing history in regulatory and infrastructure-related legal services, the firm frequently supports critical transactions and high-stakes litigation for public and private sector clients.
Challenges Faced by the Client
Data confidentiality is critical within the legal sector. Sensitive case files, client records, contracts, and internal staff data must be carefully protected. Even a minor error in access control could result in serious consequences, such as breach of confidentiality. By setting up clear governance rules and secure access protocols, organizations can ensure only the right people have access to the right data at the right time.
In that context, the client decided to adopt Power BI as their main reporting tool, and alongside this, they wanted to establish a clear governance framework. To manage reports responsibly and securely, the client needed a framework covering the following requirements:
- Structured access control: The client wanted a defined method to decide who needs to get access to which reports or data sets for effective report distribution.
- Standardized Admin Settings Control: Power BI has multiple layers of permissions (such as workspace roles, dataset-level access, sharing links, etc.). The client wanted an efficient way to track and manage all these configurations consistently.
- Clarity on Visibility Roles: A reliable way to decide who should see what, ensuring sensitive legal information is only shared with the right people.
- Efficient Access Management: Reducing delays and avoiding unnecessary manual steps when granting or reviewing access.
Solutions
At UB Technology Services Inc (UBTI), a certified Microsoft Power BI Partner, we began by thoroughly analyzing the client’s challenges and ecosystem. Based on our findings, we implemented a standardized Power BI Data Governance framework. Using Microsoft Azure, we established a clear, role-based access model and configured secure, package-style groups to manage permissions within Power BI. The following outlines our approach:
- Defined Roles and Responsibilities: We first collaborated with district teams to clearly define the roles of each staff member within Power BI. This helped us understand how responsibilities vary across individuals, departments, and tasks, forming the foundation for a tailored access strategy.
- Established Structured Security Groups in Azure AD: Using these insights, we established dedicated Security Groups within Azure AD, designed as structured access bundles aligned with specific Power BI tenant configurations. This approach significantly enhanced administrative clarity and control. For example, groups such as ‘Admin Users’ were created for those requiring full access to Power BI settings, while ‘General Users’ were assigned limited usage rights. Additional groups were tailored to specific needs, ensuring precise and secure access management across the organization.
- Provided Clarity with Easy-to-follow Explanations: Detailed documentation was provided, outlining the purpose and permissions of each security group. This ensured the law firm had complete visibility and confidence in how roles and accesses were managed within Power BI, without second-guessing settings.
Solutions Benefits
With this implementation, the client expressed high satisfaction with the enhanced clarity and control introduced to their Power BI environment. The initiative delivered several key benefits:
- Clear Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Each user was assigned access levels aligned with their responsibilities, minimizing confusion and strengthening data security.
- Accelerated Onboarding: Predefined security groups simplified the process of granting access to new users, eliminating the need for manual permission checks.
- Centralized Access Management via Azure AD: Security group modifications (such as adding or removing users or adjusting tenant settings) could be managed directly within Azure Active Directory, with changes automatically reflected in Power BI.
- Enhanced Data Protection: Sensitive legal data remained secure, with no incidents of accidental exposure due to misconfigured permissions.
- Empowered Teams: Dedicated training sessions enabled staff to independently manage user access, reducing reliance on external support and giving the firm full control over Power BI permissions.
Conclusion
Through a strategic and well-structured implementation of Power BI Data Governance, we successfully addressed the client’s requirements around access control, data security, and administrative efficiency. With Microsoft Azure and Power BI’s governance capabilities, the law firm now operates with enhanced clarity, control, and confidence across its reporting environment. At UB Technology Innovations, Inc., we make it a point to first understand the case sensitivity of legal teams before personalizing the solutions to precisely align with their operational needs.
About Us
UB Technology Innovations, Inc. (UBTI) is a leading global technology solution provider with over 3 decades of experience across all industries, specializing in Capital Markets, Logistics, and Healthcare. We are the preferred Microsoft Solutions Partner backed by a world-class team of Microsoft Certified experts with rich experience in Azure Cloud Platform and Data Analytics.
