8 Best alternatives to Across Legal for compliance and certification

Here are the best options if you are looking for alternatives to Across Legal for compliance and certification:

1. PrivaLex
2. ECIJA
3. Legal Army
4. Vanta
5. Drata
6. Secureframe
7. OneTrust
8. GlobalSuite Solutions

Across Legal is a technology-focused law firm with a strong startup, privacy, IP, venture and M&A practice. If your immediate need is contracts, investment support, data protection or technology law, a legal adviser can be the right primary partner.

The comparison changes when the business also needs an ISMS, ISO 27001 implementation, NIS2 preparation, audit evidence or continuous compliance automation. Those workstreams often require an implementation consultancy, a GRC platform or a combination of partners.

8 alternatives to Across Legal

1. PrivaLex Partners

PrivaLex Partners supports startups, scaleups and digital businesses that need privacy, information security and certification work in one operating programme. We help define scope, run risk workshops, design and implement controls, prepare evidence, train teams, support internal audit and coordinate preparation for certification.

This is useful when the organisation needs more than legal advice, for example an ISMS for ISO 27001, NIS2 preparation, DORA-related work, ENS requirements or a combined control map. A structured ISO 27001 risk assessment provides the starting point for prioritising implementation actions.

PrivaLex is a strong fit for a first certification, several frameworks at once, or a team that needs senior implementation support. Agree the countries, frameworks, deliverables and client-side roles before starting. An independent certification body, not PrivaLex, makes the certification decision.

Our delivery begins with the organisation’s real operating context: services, information assets, suppliers, customer commitments and existing ways of working. We convert that review into a practical roadmap with control owners, milestones, evidence requirements and decisions that management can track.

We then help teams make the programme operate in practice through policies, supplier reviews, access reviews, incident procedures, awareness training, internal audit and management review. This creates a clearer route from risk decisions to audit-ready evidence, while allowing legal advisers and software platforms to contribute where they add the most value.

2. ECIJA

ECIJA is a full-service firm with public practices in technology, privacy, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance. It can be a strong option where the programme includes complex legal issues, corporate work, highly regulated activities or multi-jurisdictional advice.

It can suit organisations that need substantial legal capacity alongside technology, privacy or cybersecurity advice. Confirm who will design the ISMS, implement controls and prepare operational evidence if ISO 27001 certification is the central objective.

This distinction matters where a business needs both legal interpretation and security change. A combined model can work well, provided the legal, technical and evidence-delivery responsibilities are allocated in writing from the outset.

3. Legal Army

Legal Army is an alternative legal-services provider focused on technology business, privacy, digital law, AI Act, contracts and legal outsourcing. Its public materials describe both recurring and fixed-scope support for technology companies. Teams evaluating the AI element can also compare the best tools for EU AI Act compliance.

It can suit companies that need responsive legal capacity for privacy, contracts, AI governance or digital operations. Legal support does not by itself establish technical controls, an operating ISMS or evidence for a certification audit, so confirm whether a particular engagement includes those workstreams.

For growing technology companies, this model can be especially useful when product launches, commercial negotiations or new AI use cases create a changing legal workload. The security programme should still have named owners, measurable controls and an evidence process that operates independently of individual legal matters.

4. Vanta

Vanta is a compliance platform that connects to cloud and business systems to collect evidence, monitor controls and support ISO 27001 workflows. Its official ISO 27001 materials describe automated evidence collection, Statement of Applicability workflows, risk-management tasks and internal-audit support. For a wider comparison, see ISO 27001 compliance software.

It can suit cloud-native teams with internal security ownership that want to reduce manual evidence collection and reuse work across frameworks. A platform can automate evidence and monitoring, but it does not make scope decisions, accept residual risk, implement every control, provide legal advice or issue a certificate.

Before selecting a platform, assess the systems it can connect to, the controls that will remain manual and the internal time available to address exceptions. The strongest results usually come after the control set and ownership model are already defined.

5. Drata

Drata provides compliance automation focused on continuous control monitoring, evidence collection, risk-to-control mapping and audit collaboration. It is relevant for teams that need the ISMS record to stay current as systems, owners and risks change. A risk treatment plan helps turn that mapping into owned actions and evidence.

It can suit teams with technical systems to integrate and internal owners who can operate a continuous compliance programme. Automation depends on sound control ownership, accurate configuration and a real operating process, so decide where specialist implementation or legal support is still needed.

This approach is most effective when evidence is reviewed regularly rather than only before an audit. Teams should agree who investigates failed checks, approves exceptions, follows up remediation and reports material risk changes to management.

6. Secureframe

Secureframe is a compliance automation platform used for frameworks including ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR. It can help teams centralise evidence and structure audit preparation through a software-led workflow. The comparison of compliance documentation software is also useful when policies, approvals and audit records are the priority.

It can suit organisations with internal owners that want a platform for controls, evidence and audit tasks. Confirm current framework coverage, integrations, onboarding support and whether you need an additional implementation partner.

It is also useful to identify the records that cannot be collected automatically, such as management decisions, risk acceptance, training completion or supplier assessments. Those records need simple, owned workflows outside the technical integrations.

7. OneTrust

OneTrust offers a broad enterprise platform for privacy, risk and compliance. It can suit larger organisations with multiple programmes, complex stakeholder needs and dedicated teams to configure and operate the system. Evaluate implementation effort, internal capacity and the total cost of ownership, as a broad platform may be more than an early-stage company needs.

The platform’s breadth can be valuable where privacy, third-party risk, data governance and compliance reporting need to be coordinated across several business units. It also makes careful programme design important, so teams should start with the modules and processes that address the highest-priority risks.

8. GlobalSuite Solutions

GlobalSuite Solutions is a GRC platform for managing risk, compliance, privacy and related management-system work. It can suit organisations that want a central system for controls, workflows, risks and evidence. This is particularly relevant where vendor compliance management is part of the wider programme.

It suits organisations with enough internal GRC maturity to operate a platform and maintain it after implementation. Compare the full model, including internal ownership, configuration, evidence maintenance and external implementation or audit-preparation costs.

A central GRC record can improve visibility across risk, corrective actions and approvals, but it will only stay reliable when control owners update it as work changes. Define review frequencies, escalation paths and accountability before relying on the platform as the source of audit evidence.

How we selected these alternatives

We selected providers with a public presence in technology and privacy law, technical compliance implementation, GRC and evidence automation, or certification preparation. We considered delivery model, likely fit for startups and established businesses, public framework information, and whether the provider supports implementation rather than only legal advice or software.

The providers are not ranked from best to worst. Each “best for” label describes a common use case, not an endorsement or a guarantee of compliance. Confirm current framework coverage, team availability, country coverage, commercial terms and exclusions directly with each provider. 

Comparison at a glance

Provider	Type	Best for	Publicly stated focus	Implementation and certification preparation	Main limitation to consider
PrivaLex Partners	Implementation consultancy	Multi-framework implementation and certification preparation	GDPR, ISO 27001, ENS, NIS2, DORA, SOC 2 and related security work	Scope, risk, controls, evidence, training, internal audit and audit coordination	Confirm project scope and availability for each country and framework
ECIJA	Full-service law firm	Complex legal, privacy, cyber and corporate projects	Technology law, privacy, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance	Confirm whether technical ISMS implementation is included	A legal-led engagement may need technical implementation support
Legal Army	Alternative legal-services provider	Digital-business legal support, privacy and AI Act work	Privacy, digital law, legal outsourcing, contracts and compliance	Confirm whether an engagement includes ISMS or certification preparation	Legal support does not by itself establish operating security controls
Vanta	Compliance automation platform	Automated evidence for cloud-native teams	ISO 27001, SOC 2, privacy and continuous control monitoring	Automates evidence, monitoring, SoA workflows and risk tasks; a team or partner makes key decisions	Does not replace implementation judgement, legal advice or external certification
Drata	Compliance automation platform	Continuous evidence and control mapping	ISO 27001, risk, vendor oversight, control monitoring and evidence	Supports risk-to-control mapping and audit collaboration; human ownership remains necessary	Requires internal process owners and technical configuration
Secureframe	Compliance automation platform	Software-led audit preparation	ISO 27001, SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR and audit preparation	Confirm current implementation and service-partner scope	May need to be combined with internal ownership or specialist support
OneTrust	Enterprise privacy and GRC platform	Broad enterprise programmes	Privacy, risk and compliance management	Confirm the modules, implementation model and framework coverage required	Can require substantial configuration and internal capacity
GlobalSuite Solutions	GRC platform	Centralised risk and compliance management	Risk, compliance, privacy, continuity and ISO-oriented management	Confirm implementation services, local support and framework modules	Needs a capable internal team or implementation partner

Across Legal is intentionally not included in the alternatives table because it is the reference provider. Its public positioning centres on technology companies, privacy, IP, investment rounds, M&A and international expansion. That makes it a valuable legal partner when those are the business needs, even if another partner is needed for technical implementation or audit evidence.

6 Criteria for choosing an alternative

1. Is your main need legal advice, security implementation or both?

For contracts, IP, privacy, M&A and investment work, a technology law firm may be the best primary partner. For an ISMS, evidence, security controls and certification preparation, add an implementation consultancy or an experienced internal security team.

2. Is this a first certification or an ongoing programme?

A first certification requires scope definition, risk treatment, control design, evidence, internal audit and management review. Once those foundations are running, automation platforms can reduce the workload of evidence collection and continuous monitoring.

3. Which frameworks and jurisdictions apply?

List the frameworks you need today and next: GDPR, ISO 27001, ENS, NIS2, DORA, SOC 2 or sector rules. Ask each provider to identify what it covers directly, what it supports through a partner and what remains the responsibility of your organisation.

4. What level of internal ownership do you have?

Software does not remove the need for scope decisions, risk workshops, control owners or management involvement. If you have a mature security team, a platform can add efficiency. If you do not, implementation support may be more valuable at the start.

5. How will certification preparation work?

Ask who will build the evidence pack, perform the internal audit, track corrective actions and coordinate with the certification body. ISO explains that certification is carried out by an external certification body, not by a consultant or platform.

6. What is the total cost and commercial model?

Compare fixed-scope implementation, recurring legal advice, software subscriptions, internal engineering time, training and certification-body fees. If FUNDAE support is relevant in Spain, confirm eligibility, responsibilities and conditions in writing before including it in a project budget.

How PrivaLex Can Help When You Are Comparing Across Legal Alternatives

PrivaLex is a practical partner when the need extends beyond legal interpretation into operational security, compliance implementation and certification preparation. We help turn regulatory and contractual requirements into controls that teams can operate, evidence that customers and auditors can review, and decisions that management can approve.

We begin by defining the real scope: products, systems, data, suppliers, markets, customer commitments and applicable frameworks. From there, we run a gap assessment and translate the findings into a clear delivery plan, including a framework map, risk register, treatment plan, control owners, deadlines and evidence requirements.

We support the implementation work that often sits between legal advice and external certification: adapting policies to real operations, establishing access and supplier controls, preparing incident and continuity procedures, training teams, and organising evidence across tools and business functions.

As the programme matures, we can support internal audit, management review, remediation tracking and documented residual-risk approval. Before certification, we help test whether the controls and evidence are ready for independent auditor sampling. The certification decision always remains with the certification body.

We can work alongside Across Legal or another law firm rather than replace them. A legal partner may remain the right choice for contracts, privacy interpretation, IP, M&A or corporate matters, while PrivaLex focuses on making the resulting compliance and security programme operational and demonstrable.

Schedule a strategic session with PrivaLex to decide whether you need legal advice, implementation support, automation or a combination of these models.

Conclusion

The right alternative to Across Legal depends on the gap you need to close. A law firm, implementation consultancy and compliance platform can each be valuable, but they solve different parts of the problem. Select the delivery model that fits your legal, technical and operational needs, then document scope, owners, framework coverage, cost and evidence responsibilities before work begins.

For ISO 27001 and other certifiable management systems, the critical path is clear: risks must lead to controls, controls must produce evidence, and the programme must pass internal review before an independent certification body performs the external assessment.

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