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Planning for Disaster and Recovery
is NOT Optional
Planning
what to do in the event of a natural or human disaster is imperative to
protect your staff, clients, work product, and physical office and equipment.
Here are some steps to take before an unexpected disaster hits.
by Ross Kodner
 THE
TRAGIC EVENTS of Sept. 11 will not soon fade in our collective memory.
Of the multitude of businesses affected by the destruction of the World
Trade Center, many were law firms.
What happens when a law firm suddenly not only has no office, but has
no computer systems, no network, no Internet access, no furniture, no
office equipment, and no telephones other than cell phones? What happens
to pending cases and clients? What happens when confidential client information
is destroyed?
Disaster recovery is hardly a new concept for Americans. In Wisconsin,
attorneys and others still are recovering from the recent floods in the
Siren area. And who can forget the destruction of human life and property
caused by the Barneveld tornado? Still, no situation could ever drill
home the need for disaster planning and system redundancy more than what
so many experienced on Sept. 11.
Disaster Recovery Action
Steps
In order to recover from a disaster, you must have the mindset that a
disaster will occur, and plan for it.
1) Prepare a comprehensive disaster plan that includes a list of the
possible disruptions that can affect the safety of a firm's people and
the ability to practice law.
2) Prepare a data protection plan that includes a detailed, comprehensive
strategy for data and program backup. Anticipate the multiple factors
that can affect the ability of a computer network to generate work product
and be accessible when needed. For example, a hardware failure inside
the network fileserver(s) can be protected against by using redundant
hardware componentry such as:
• an array of multiple hard drives or "duplexed" pairs of hard
drives and hard drive controllers
• dual processors (which also improve network performance)
• dual power supplies and dual fans and chassis cooling systems
• a complete real-time "mirrored" redundant server system, which
is another fileserver ready to step in instantly and take over network
operations if the main server fails
• "bulletproof" data backup, meaning a "real" tape backup system,
not a minimalist $300 TRAVAN tape backup system or attempting to back
up on a spanned set of 30 CD-ROM disks. A "real" tape backup system
is one that can be counted on: an ADR drive or a DAT, DLT, or AIT drive.
Make multiple alternating backup tapes. Back up everything on the network
server or a key stand-alone PC, every single day, without fail. Store
the most recent backup tape or other media out of the office and out
of the building. Cycle out heavily used tapes every year or two and
replace them with fresh backup media. Have a healthy distrust for your
backup system - test it regularly by randomly selecting files from a
recent backup tape, restoring them and checking their accessibility.
Purchase two tape backup devices, storing one out of the building in
a safe place, ready to install and use to restore backed-up information
if the primary tape backup device fails or is damaged.
3) Prepare for physical damage to your computer systems and coping with
and surviving "worst-case" scenarios. Assume that not only does your office
burn to the ground, melting your network fileserver, but that your off-site-stored
backup tapes refuse to restore your information. Companies like Ontrack
Data (www.ontrack.com) and Drivesavers (www.drive-savers.com) have managed
to recover data from hard drives that have been crushed, scorched, torched,
melted, flooded, driven over, and worse.
4) Protect your paper files by adopting a paperless office approach
and scanning your paper documents to build electronic files (which can
then be backed up). It is impractical to photocopy all paper files and
transport the duplicates off-site on any kind of regular basis. Aside
from its daily operational benefits, scanning your paper documents ensures
that a duplicate to every paper file is stored electronically on the computer
system and backed up nightly.1
5) Look for data redundancy in the law office software systems you purchase
and deploy. For example:
a) Document Management. Many document management systems (like Worldox,
iManage, or DOCS Open) have a "document mirroring" or "document shadowing"
function. Every time a user saves a document to its Windows folder on
the network server, a copy of the document is stored on that user's local
hard drive. If the server fails, rendering the network-located documents
inaccessible, the user still can work on documents previously saved from
the last 90 days. When the network is again operational, typically the
local hard drive's "mirror" documents are automatically synchronized back
to their proper "original" locations on the network server.
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 Ross
Kodner, Marquette 1986, is a Wisconsin lawyer and legal technology
consultant with Milwaukee's MicroLaw Inc. He can be reached at rkodner@microlaw.com.
Immediately following the Sept. 11 events, Kodner and others worked
with the New York State Bar Association to help build a clearinghouse
of information for New York lawyers displaced from their offices
or otherwise unable to reopen their practices. The information is
available at www.microlaw.com/nyrelief/index.htm,
which also contains a growing collection of disaster recovery-related
resources.
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b) Case Management Synchronization or Replication. Many case management
systems allow synchronization of network-located case information to laptops,
allowing access to a rich range of case information, calendaring and docketing
entries, addresses and contact information, and so on, when a mobile lawyer
is working away from the office. A secondary purpose is focused on disaster
prevention, by synchronizing a case management system, every single day,
to multiple PCs in the office - not just laptops, but desktop PCs also.
In case of a network failure, multiple computers can access this critical
information. Once the network operation is restored or a damaged or destroyed
network fileserver is replaced, the individual PCs merely need to "re-synchronize"
their case managers to the central system to restore normal operation.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that tragedies can't be avoided, but the effect of
a tragedy on both people and technology systems can be minimized by anticipating
the worst case scenario and planning for it.
1 Information on the Paper LESS OfficeTM is at
www.microlaw.com/cle/plessindex.html.
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