Teleconference presents disaster plan how-tos for lawyers and clients

On the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake, the ABA sponsored a teleconference on how law firms can prepare themselves and their clients to deal with a disaster, whether natural or man-made. The first step in developing a disaster plan is to identify the potential consequences, said Gary Poliakoff of Becker and Poliakoff. Identifying the potential consequences of a disaster includes looking at the possibility of injury and/or loss of life to key employees, economic damages and potential business interruptions, as well as loss of customer base, dislocation and destruction of property.

While the anniversaries of the San Francisco earthquake and Hurricane Katrina may lead many to think about disaster preparedness from a natural disaster point of view, fully one-third of disaster events are a result of human error or hardware/software problems. In addition to destruction of property, a disaster plan must address how to protect data, such as digitally archiving contracts, personnel files, insurance policies and deeds.

Post-disaster, being able to re-assemble the critical data and information of a business is critical. As with our homes and personal documents and property, it is advised to take photographic evidence and have other documentation relating to value and confirmation of ownership.

Panelists Leonardo Aldecocea of Telefonica; Roberto Zegarra, a senior consultant specializing in business continuity management; and Jacqueline M. Zelmana, University of Miami's Information Technology Executive Institute, spoke to their partnership in creating a business continuity planning solution. Items discussed included ensuring that one's disaster recovery plan is cost effective, checking to make sure a plan meets the guidelines of the highly regulated compliance world in which one now operates, and addressing the concept of work group recovery, in which a remote work capability is established in order to keep a business up and running in the event of a disaster.

The program, "Developing a Disaster Plan for Your Business Clients and Your Firm," was sponsored by the ABA Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education. Portions of the materials from the program will be available online here [PDF] for the next two weeks. Audio and additional written materials are also available from the ABA Webstore.

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