Disaster planning is a must for all firms, large or small. While disasters of absolute loss, such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina rarely occur, these tragedies underscore the need for advanced preparation. Even recovery from smaller disasters such as server crashes, virus/data corruption and other business interruptions benefits from pre-planning efforts.
During the 22nd annual ABA TECHSHOW in March, disaster planning experts and lawyers Jeff Richardson and Ben Weinberger explained the potentially hazardous effects a disaster can wreak on a law firm’s bottom line. “Not only can they be cause for missed deadlines, but they might make you vulnerable for malpractice claims,” warned Weinberger. Disasters are often the cause of law firms losing clients, Richardson added.
Data preservation
Richardson and Weinberger advise that firms should determine what data must be protected, where that data will reside and which programs or applications need to be available during an outage so necessary information can be accessed. It is important that data be stored off-site, or at a co-location, to avoid putting it at risk on-site. Also, firms should consider issuing laptops to key team members so that data can be accessed off-site in the event of a disaster.
Communication
A component that is often overlooked in a disaster plan is communication. Mobile devices, such as Palm Treos, Blackberrys and other handheld “computers” can be particularly useful in keeping the lines of communication open when the telephones or other systems are down. Another way to ensure that lawyers and other staff members can check in with your firm is to set up an 800-number that allows employees to call in for updates on the company or hire a vendor to provide emergency notifications.
Availablity
Finally, the disaster plan needs to be documented and placed on a backup server so that it can be easily accessed in the event of a disaster. This is one of the most important steps, as it will serve as a guide, answering questions such as where the data is located, who is in charge of executing the plan, how should employees be contacted and other critical information.
Many firms fail to realize the benefits of disaster planning. Disasters can happen at anytime, anywhere and to any firm. Advanced planning can help avoid the loss of clients, billable hours and valuable data.
