With the official Microsoft support deadline for Windows 10 fast approaching, it is critical that all law firms take immediate steps to upgrade their operating systems to ensure continued security, compliance, and optimal performance of LEAP.
The Deadline and The Risk
Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025.
While your existing PCs running Windows 10 will continue to function, the end of support creates significant and unacceptable risks for a regulated professional environment like a law firm:
- Critical Security Vulnerabilities: After the deadline, Microsoft will stop providing free security updates and patches. Any newly discovered software flaws or "zero-day" exploits will remain permanently unpatched, leaving your firm’s devices as open targets for malware, viruses, and ransomware.
- Compliance Failure: Running unsupported software heightens your firm's vulnerability to data breaches. For UK firms, this poses a serious risk of non-compliance with data protection regulations, including GDPR, potentially leading to significant fines and reputational damage.
- Software Deterioration: Over time, compatibility with core legal applications like LEAP, Microsoft 365, and other essential tools (such as Adobe Acrobat) will degrade, leading to performance issues and reduced reliability.
The Solution: A Free Upgrade to Windows 11
The good news is that LEAP fully supports the Windows 11 64-bit operating system, and the upgrade from Windows 10 is free for eligible PCs.
Windows 11 offers a modern, highly efficient, and significantly more secure foundation for your firm, featuring enhanced defences like Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 integration - critical features that make it three times less vulnerable to firmware attacks compared to its predecessor.
How to Check Eligibility and Upgrade
The primary hurdle for many devices is meeting the minimum hardware requirements (specifically the Trusted Platform Module 2.0 or TPM 2.0 security chip).
We strongly advise you to follow these three steps immediately:
Step 1: Check Your PC’s Compatibility
Before starting any migration, use Microsoft’s dedicated diagnostic tool to see if your current hardware is eligible for the free upgrade:
- Visit the official Microsoft Support page and download the PC Health Check application.
- Run the application on each device. It will clearly indicate whether the PC meets the requirements for Windows 11 (TPM 2.0, CPU generation, etc.).
Step 2: The Upgrade Path (If Eligible)
If the PC Health Check confirms eligibility, the upgrade process is straightforward and free of charge:
- On the compatible Windows 10 PC, navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Click Check for updates. The Windows 11 update package should appear as a featured download.
- Follow the prompts to download and install the update. You can typically choose to retain all your existing files and applications.
Step 3: Consult Your IT Provider
If the PC Health Check tool confirms your devices are not eligible for the free upgrade (often due to missing TPM 2.0), this means the hardware is too old to safely run modern operating systems. Please contact your IT provider to discuss a way forwards.
If you are unsure of what steps to take, please contact your IT provider in the first instance. Security is non-negotiable for a professional law firm; ensuring you are on the latest and most secure technology is the best way to safeguard client data and operational continuity.
