What is the safest way to prepare my law firm for the future or another natural disaster?

Law Firm Future Preparation

2020 has been a year of crisis management. Between the coronavirus pandemic, wildfires, police brutality riots, and numerous large-scale natural disasters across the United States, law firms have had to contend with a lot of uncertainty. These events have raised the question of how to safely prepare for future disasters.

The first thing that a firm must have in place is a disaster recovery plan. Disaster recovery plans should cover a range of incidents that impact how your firm functions, including, but not limited to, IT infrastructure, the physical offices, or employees’ ability to do their jobs^[1].

Key elements of a good DRP include the following considerations^[2]:

Assessing priorities for immediate action
Assigning roles responsibilities^[3]
- Who is authorized to execute a plan? Have a chain of command in place.
Data backup and a plan for accessing and restoring backups in the aftermath of a disaster. Your plan should be tested periodically.
- Client lists, calendars, electronic documents
Inventory of assets
- A list of all physical client and case records
- A list of all office supplies, computers, equipment, and furniture used by the firm
- Make sure to include a list of key vendors to use to obtain office supplies, computers, IT assistance, equipment, furniture
Communications plan that includes who to contact and what critical information to communicate:
- Emergency contacts, including first responders, banking, and other key business contacts
- FEMA and Red Cross contact information for government loans or other assistance
- Insurance agent contacts to file business interruption claim as soon as possible
- Employee contact information, as well as their emergency contacts
- Communication plan for clients, the court, staff, lawyers, and vendors after a disaster
Work plan for employees
- Plan for locating new office OR
- Plan for remote work