[ Case study · Legal ]
Suhre & Associates
How we helped a criminal defense law firm replace MPLS circuits with WireGuard-encrypted SD-WAN, connecting five offices in three states with no licensing fees, managed by the firm itself.
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A tech-forward law firm operating across three states
Suhre & Associates is a criminal defense law firm headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, with additional offices in Lexington, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Dayton. Founded in 1999 by Joe Suhre, who served in law enforcement before law school, the firm has grown into a multi-state practice that runs on current technology.
With five offices across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, the firm depends on fast, stable connectivity between them. We built the initial deployment at each location, and Joe Suhre runs day-to-day operations himself.
The challenge
Secure multi-state connectivity for sensitive legal data
Multi-state connectivity without MPLS costs
Suhre & Associates considered MPLS circuits to connect offices across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, but they cost thousands a month. The firm needed encrypted connectivity between offices for a fraction of that.
No full-time IT staff
Founder Joe Suhre manages IT alongside running a criminal defense law firm. He needed a platform he could configure, maintain, and troubleshoot himself without calling an engineer for every small change.
Sensitive client data requires privacy-first architecture
Criminal defense cases involve highly sensitive information. The firm needed the encryption keys to stay on its own premises, out of any public cloud or third-party infrastructure.
Apple-centric workflow compatibility
The entire firm runs on macOS and iOS. The network needed to support AirPrint, AirPlay and roaming for MacBooks and iPads in every office.
What we did
License-free SD-WAN across five offices
We built the initial UniFi deployment at each Suhre & Associates location, with a WireGuard-based SD-WAN that connects all five offices in a hub-and-spoke topology. There is no MPLS, no cloud routing and no monthly licensing.
Larger offices (Cincinnati, Lexington, Louisville)
- UniFi Dream Machine Pro or SE: a high-throughput gateway with integrated PoE for the primary sites
- UniFi switches for structured wiring and PoE device connectivity
- UniFi access points for macOS and iOS roaming
Smaller offices & co-working spaces
- UniFi Dream Router (UDR): a compact all-in-one gateway that joins the SD-WAN even behind NAT
- One access point per location
"I'm not a professional network engineer, but with UniFi, I can easily set up or replace hardware in under 15 minutes — no stress, no confusion."
— Joe Suhre, Founder & Managing Partner, Suhre & Associates
Every office has the same three VLANs: staff for attorneys' MacBooks and VoIP, IoT for printers and shared devices, and guest for visitors. The network behaves the same in Cincinnati as in a co-working space in Dayton.
Outcomes
Five offices on one platform, with no licensing
- Five offices connected across three states, with no MPLS and no monthly WAN fees
- WireGuard SD-WAN encrypts all traffic end to end; only the firm's gateways hold the encryption keys
- A Synology NAS at each office syncs to the Cincinnati hub over the SD-WAN, replacing third-party cloud storage
- AirPrint and AirPlay working reliably across all locations via VLAN configuration
- Joe manages all five sites himself: adding access points, updating firmware and troubleshooting without outside help
- Planned expansion to UniFi Protect surveillance and UniFi Access keycard entry at new Cincinnati headquarters
"UniFi gave us the confidence to manage everything ourselves — no monthly WAN fees and no calling IT for every little change. It's exactly what a law firm needs."
— Joe Suhre, Founder & Managing Partner, Suhre & Associates
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