Data backups should be part of every law firm’s IT plan. Whether you’re a student or an attorney, backing up is often something we don’t think about until it’s too late.
Backups of your client, case, and firm data are critical. Accidents happen, and it’s important to be prepared for the worst. Don’t let a server failure affect your law firm’s business-as-usual for weeks or months to come.
What Are Data Backups?
For less tech-savvy attorneys, the word “backup” itself causes confusion. When data is “backed up,” it is saved at a specific point in time to be recovered later. Why would you need to recover data? In the case of hardware failure, hacking, or other incidents, your server contents could be restored from the most recent backup.
Questions You Should Be Able to Answer About Your Firm’s Backups
If you are the business owner or administrator, you should have some basic knowledge of your law firm’s backup procedures. Whether evaluating your current solution or establishing new protocols, these are some things to consider:
Does my law firm have backups taking place? If so, how often?
All law firms should have regular backups. To determine how often backups should take place, evaluate the amount of data going into your firm’s system at any given time. If your system backs up every Saturday night, what happens if your server crashes on a Friday? Would you be okay losing a week’s worth of work?
Where are these backups being stored?
Generally, your options for data storage are the cloud or a drive. The cloud is a web-based option, so there will be no physical hardware needed. Drive backups require physical systems that you must maintain. Some law firms have one of each in the event that one fails. For example, backing up on a drive in your office next to the server is not useful in the event of a flood, fire, or burglary.
What data are you backing up?
Most law firms aren’t sure exactly what data is being backed up until there’s a crisis. Be sure to communicate with your IT personnel about what files matter most to you.
If you’re using legal software, do you know that program’s data backup policy?
Every online case management solution has a different backup policy. Be sure you’re comfortable with the one they have in place.
If you can answer all of these questions, you are ahead of most of your colleagues. Chances are, however, it is time to evaluate and update your backup procedures.
How to Improve Your Firm’s Backup Plan
Implementing any updates to your law firm’s technology can seem daunting. But establishing reliable data backup procedures will pay off dividends if – or when – a failure occurs. Plan for the future by following these tips to improve your law firm’s existing system:
Have more than one backup plan
For peace of mind, consider having two backup plans. A combination of cloud-based and drive backups ensures that your law firm will be just as safe after a fire as a cybersecurity breach.
Reach out to your case management software provider
If you use a practice management software, reach out to the provider and learn more about their backup policy. Make sure to ask about the regularity, and where it is stored. Many online solutions will have constant rolling backups, but it’s always best to ask.
Maybe you are shopping around for the case management solution right for you. Add backup policies to your list of questions for potential providers.
Test your backup system
If you have backup procedures in place, have you ever reviewed them to make sure everything is working? Along with your IT support, open the backup folders and make sure data is saved in a way that makes it easy to restore.
Because every technology fails, backups have also been known to stop without warning. It’s important to test and check backups every month to make sure they continue to work.
If you have any sort of data recovery system in place, you’re better off than 40% of law firms. If you don’t have existing backup procedures, don’t wait. It might seem like a hassle, but no one has ever regretted having a backup. Your employees, your clients, and your bottom line will thank you.