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Legal Staff News & Views Newsletter Does your firm have a disaster recovery plan? It should and it should include more than what should be done in the event of a fire, flood, tornado or theft. I once worked for a firm in Elgin, Illinois that suffered a theft of every computer in the office. It was a scramble to replace the lost data. Some information had been stored on floppies but not everything. Receivables and billing records had to be totally reconstructed. Every office should have a detailed recovery plan. Everyone should have a copy of the plan and know who is responsible for what action. The bar office backs-up every computer every Friday afternoon. We also have a 20 minute emergency power source so that computers can quickly be backed-up in the event of a power failure. The backed-up files are downloaded onto a CD Rom and the disc stored off site. We also have fireproof file cabinets for records that cannot be stored on discs. Some fireproof cabinets are only good up to about 300 degrees, others will go as high as 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are in the market for such a cabinet be sure to check how much protection you are getting for your investment. Off site records should include: 1. Photo copies of insurance policies for renters/owners general coverage. 2. An inventory of office equipment, including small items like the coffeepot, staplers and pencil sharpener. You want include every piece of equipment that you will have to replace. 3. Copies of purchase and/or rental agreements/receipts for all office equipment. 4. Do you have a list of your clients, addresses and telephone numbers on your computer? Download that and store it with the rest of your off site records, include a list of the vendors you usually do business with. 5. You may need to contact the telephone company to arrange for service at a temporary location. 6. You may need to make arrangements alternative mail deliveries. 7. Does every employee, particularly the office manager, have a list of each other's telephone numbers in case of an emergency and an emergency contact person for each employee? If an employee becomes ill at work, do you know who to contact and where? Every client should have a "Profile" which includes the information on your intake or interview form. You will need their name, home and business addresses, telephone numbers for both, and an e-mail address if available. It is also not a bad idea to have more detailed information such as a driver's license number and their social security number, date of birth and family contact in the event you are unable to reach your client. The file should have a list of all matters being handled by the firm, the current status of each case and the attorney assigned to that client or that case. Each should include the name of the case, listing all Plaintiffs and Defendants, the case number and opposing counsel(s). Each client may have a preference in the manor their billing is handled and this should be included as part of their profile. A copy of this information should be store on disc updated and a copy maintained off-site. Does your firm use a trust account for personal injury, med-mal or real estate? Then a record should be kept of the funds on deposit for each client and each case, including any pay-outs. Make this part of your client profile. Another disaster, not usually considered, is the loss of a valued employee. Ask yourself "What will need to be done to return to normal without them, and, how quickly can we recover?" The answer of course is to have each person make a detailed list of what they do each and every day until you have a full picture of what their job entails. Each job description will be unique to each employee and to each law firm. Every person has undocumented tasks that are done as second nature and are known only to that one employee. Cross training employees assures that at least the basics one employee performed is known to one or more other employees. The first step is to assess your vulnerability. If an employee suddenly became ill, was in an accident or just quit, how well are your prepared to recover? If an employee is moving out of town or retiring you will have the luxury of a transition period, but the sudden loss of an employee can leave you in a crisis. Another concern in suddenly losing a valued employee is computer access. Many files are password protected. There needs to be record of passwords for each computer in an emergency. Perhaps this seems like an overkill approach to what may or may not ever happen, but September 11th has made everyone more aware of the possibility of disasters. People & Places... Chihuly in the Park: A Garden of Glass is now on display at historic Garfield Park Conservatory. Dale Chihuly is an internationally known artist whose glass works are featured in museums worldwide. Some of his works at Garfield Park float effortlessly in the calm waters of the Fern Room pool while others tower alongside the Conservatory's majestic palm trees. For more information call: 312-746-5100 or go to www.chihuly.com/installations/garfield/ Take the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290). Exist at Independence Blvd., (Exit-26A) & go north. Turn right onto Washington Blvd. Then left onto Central Park Ave. Go 2 blocks north past the Garfield Park Golden Dome field house and the Lake Street public transit line, the Conservatory is on the west side of the street. Pick your own Blueberries from July 10th
through the first week of September. This is a fun family thing to
do this summer. The kids get to pick berries too and they have a shaded
picnic area so that you can make a day of it. They also sell evergreen
trees in the fall and "Cut Your Own" Christmas Trees after
Thanksgiving. The best part is, it's not all that far away and you
can pick as many as you like! A couple of years ago we picked 80 pounds!
Fortunately they are easy to freeze. For more information call: Tammen
Treeberry Farm, Rte 2, Box 1-C, Kankakee, IL 60901 * 815-458-6264
Is open every day EXCEPT SUNDAY from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. For information contact Gloria Norton at DuPage County Bar Association, 126 S. County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187-4597, Telephone 630-653-7779, Fax to 630-653-7870 or E-Mail to: gnorton@dcba.org. |
