For a law firm, a morning that begins with an RPVA that refuses to connect or a key that is no longer recognised is not a minor IT inconvenience: it is a risk of missing a deadline. These tools — RPVA, e-Barreau, Télérecours — are central to court proceedings, and they almost always fail at the worst possible moment.
The good news: these outages are known and fixable. You just need to know where they come from and who to call.
Why it breaks (and it is not your fault)
These platforms rely on a certificate and a key installed on your workstation. Several everyday events are enough to put them out of action:
- An expired or corrupted certificate — the most common cause of an 'RPVA key not recognised' error.
- A change of workstation or a reinstallation — the certificate and key must be re-provisioned on the new machine.
- A browser, Java, or system update that breaks compatibility with the platform.
- A card reader or key driver that needs reinstalling or reconfiguring.
None of these cases fall under the software publisher's remit: they are environment and configuration issues on your workstation — exactly the territory of an IT service provider.
What to do
- Do not try multiple random fixes: reinstalling a certificate or driver at random can make the situation worse.
- Have the root cause diagnosed: certificate, workstation, browser/Java, or driver.
- Restore the service properly: reinstallation and reconfiguration of the certificate and key, verification of the environment, end-to-end testing.
IMACS SERVICES does not publish RPVA, e-Barreau, or Télérecours — these are third-party tools. Our role is to keep them operational: troubleshooting, reinstalling certificates and keys, applying updates, and setting them up on a new workstation or for a new member of staff. Remotely where possible, on-site across Normandy and Île-de-France when a physical presence is required.
Preventing the next outage
Troubleshooting resolves the immediate crisis; prevention stops it from recurring:
- Certificate expiry monitoring so you are never caught out by an expiration.
- Managed workstations: browser and Java updates coordinated rather than uncontrolled.
- Verified backups (3-2-1) and MFA: if a workstation fails, you are back up quickly and securely.
- A single point of contact who knows your setup — not a helpdesk that rediscovers your firm with every call.
What about professional privilege?
Working on a law firm's tools means coming into contact with data covered by professional privilege. This demands clear rules: audited access, encrypted workstations and email, no data exposed, and a signed confidentiality agreement. The availability of your tools must never come at the cost of confidentiality or GDPR compliance.
Access blocked, or simply tired of suffering these outages? Discover our dedicated support for law firms, or start a free pre-assessment — 15 questions, no commitment.
Keywords
- cabinets-avocats
- rpva
- cybersecurite
- infogerance
