Perhaps the backup hard drive itself has failed. Was backing up monthly rather than daily, or key files were being left out of regular backups entirely, or To recover the data, and only then discovers there’s a serious flaw in their backup strategy. It’s an all too common horror story: a business has a catastrophic data loss, turns to their backup system If necessary, get expert help to implement your backup system correctly. That said, stay flexible-you may discover during implementation that you missed something. Don’t cut corners‐‐follow through on the plan you developed in Step 2. If your firm lacks the technology know‐how to do this in‐ Invest in its implementation appropriately. Keep in mind that proper backup is critical to maintaining a healthy, stable, ethical law practice, and Corners are cut both in cost and time, key effortsĪre entrusted to people who lack technology expertise, software and hardware is installed but never Many well‐intentioned backup strategies fall apart. It may seem obvious to say that the next step is to implement your plan, but this is unfortunately where Data needs to be backed up, but it also needs to be Keep security at the front of your mind. You should also try to keep local copies of any data you store with a third‐party, and you shouldīe sure the third‐party has their own backup strategy. Relationship, etc. (See “The Cloud: Due Diligence” below). Safely and securely they are holding your data, how you access it, the business terms of your Work with any outside companies that will hold your data. You will need to understand how The quantity of data you need to backup is only Plan for where you’ll be, not where you are. Sensitive consumer data may not be appropriate for law firm data. Focus on business‐grade tools. Popular online backup tools geared towards consumers and less‐ The exact tools and software you use will vary widely depending on the size of your firm and theĬomplexity of your electronic efforts. “belt and suspenders” approach), with both data redundancy (more than one backup of any given file)Īnd geographic redundancy (backups housed in more than one geographic location). Your backup plan should provide at least two levels of redundancy (a Once you have a firm grasp of the size and scope of the data you need to backup, you should beginĭeveloping an actual backup plan. The sensitivity of data, both in terms of confidentiality and time (i.e. urgent matters). The approximate amount of data (e.g. 2TB)
Where that data resides, including the specific vendor/host if it’s held outside of the office What electronic data your firm currently uses In the end, your backup analysis should establish: Security and confidentiality problems that will need to be addressed along with the backup issues. If, for example, sensitive documents are being sent to personalĮmail addresses so employees can work from home over the weekend, you may be facing serious Use the opportunity to review yourįirm’s overall handling of sensitive data. Smartphones, firm servers and cloud computing platforms, etc.īe sure to involve everyone in your firm in this exercise. You’ll probably be surprised to learn where firmĮmployees-lawyers and staff alike-are storing valuable data. What data do you store, where do you store it, how often do you access it, and what are the risks andĬosts associated with losing that data? This is a challenging endeavour in the current computingĮnvironment, as data may be spread across numerous devices and services: computers, laptops, tablets, The first step in developing a data backup strategy for your firm is to analyze your current data usage. This five step plan will help make sure you’re covering your bases. Whether you’re revisiting an existing backup strategy or seriously implementing one for the first time,
Have catastrophic professional and ethical ramifications. Valuable work product often exist exclusively in digital format today, and thus a major data loss could Client files, important communications, and Securing and protecting your firm’s data is essential.
Online Backup . 9īackup: Hardware/Software . 9 Joshua Poje, Director of the Legal Technology Resource Center at the American Bar Association.ĥ Step Backup Strategy . 0 This paper outlines a basic strategy for law firms to backup their critical data, and reviews the variousīackup options and technology issues that firms should consider when implementing a backup plan. It isĪ supplement to the articles in LAWPRO Magazine: Cybercrime and law firms, published DecemberĢ013 and available at Acknowledgement: With thanks, it is acknowledged that the majority of this paper was originally written byĬatherine Sanders Reach, Director of Law Practice Management & Technology at the Chicago Bar Association and © 2013 Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company