The impact of 9/11, the Asian tsunami, and more recently, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, have proven
that disaster recovery planning requires questioning all assumptions, yet nearly two thirds of law
firms do not currently have a comprehensive business continuity plan in place. According to the
International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) annual technology survey of over 430 law firms,
released in December 2005, only 36 percent of firms have comprehensive disaster recovery or business
continuity plans in place, while more than 50 percent list their plans as “under development”.
High Availability and Disaster Recovery for Law Firms
Due to the billable nature of the industry, business continuity planning for law firms requires a fast
return to normal business operations. On average, law firms have the highest percentage of revenue
generating workers per company of any major industry in the world. Law firms and legal services organizations
are looking for High Availability solutions to help realize the following benefits:
Protecting confidential data. A law firm's most valuable asset is its data, and
the protection of confidential emails, client records and case files is critical. The Rules of
Professional Conduct and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
apply to data in any format - paper-based, electronic documents or e-mail messages. And because
confidential information is shared under attorney-client privilege, healthcare, financial and government
security regulations arguably transfer to the practice representing those organizations.
Maximizing billable hours. Information and business-critical applications must be
available 24x7 because of a legal practice's high dependence on hourly productivity. On average,
law firms have the highest percentage of revenue generating workers per company of any major industry
in the world. Every minute lost to downtime impacts the billable nature of the legal workplace in
small and large firms alike.
Promoting client confidence and brand loyalty. Maintaining a strong brand presence is
crucial in the legal industry. The process of converting from a primary to a secondary server hosting
business-critical applications must be quick and seamless to the user to prevent damage to the firm's
brand and uphold client confidence.
Quickly responding to downtime. Clients and their cases won't wait for downtime.
Research shows that 87% of downtime is caused by planned occurrences, such as backups, data loads and
software upgrades. Whether the result of planned downtime, a daily threat like viruses, or a catastrophic
event, law firms are implementing disaster recovery plans that ensure a fast return to normal operations.
Ensuring Regulatory Compliance. The current regulatory climate requires the implementation
of policy, process management, monitoring and reporting solutions that ensure accountability and
compliance with applicable industry and government regulations. This compliance requirement includes
Sarbanes-Oxley and other data and record retention regulations that govern the financial, government
and healthcare industries served by lawyers.
