As a native Houstonian, I’ve suffered through my fair share of disasters (namely, hurricanes and 500-year floods that now seem annual). As an attorney, it’s been my privilege to see my city and legal colleagues come together during times of crisis to help each other and their clients.
Texas lawyers play a vital role in helping their communities recover, but we’re not immune from the chaos of manmade or natural disasters. Unfortunately, many of us don't have a plan in place for when chaos strikes. And when it comes to life’s unexpected events, it’s not a matter of if, but almost certainly when.
It’s of paramount importance that we prepare ourselves and our law firms for the worst.
Disasters take many forms for lawyers: flooded offices, cybersecurity attacks, heart attacks, and more. If you're sidelined for a period, what would happen to your cases—your law firm?
And remember: just because disaster visits your door doesn’t mean we’re absolved of the ethical duties owed to our clients. Would you still be able to get work done if you couldn’t access your physical office or your client files?
Thinking about hurricanes and heart attacks isn’t fun, but disasters happen. And you can absolutely prepare for them. The following checklist and tips are to get you thinking so your firm—and your clients—are protected from the unexpected.
For a full rundown on disaster and succession planning, download the free eBook.
Disaster Preparedness Checklist
People & Communication
- Designate a disaster team with clear roles and backups
- Create contact cards and a firmwide phone tree
- Play the What If game and make a formal, written plan
- Draft client and court notification templates
Data & Systems
- Get practice management software like Smokeball
- Establish automatic cloud backups
- Test remote access for all staff
- Maintain current insurance policies
Physical Office
- Secure paper files and valuable equipment in fire and waterproof structures
- Identify alternate office locations
- Stock essential recovery supplies
Policy & Maintenance
- Review plan annually
- Run one disaster drill per year
- Review insurance policies annually
Personal Disaster Checklist
- Name a Successor Attorney in writing
- Create a “Red File”
- Update Engagement Letters
- Inform Staff & Family
- Review Insurance & Access
- Review Successor Attorney Designation Annually
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Disaster Preparedness Tips
- Don’t be the heartless managing partner that forces staff to take PTO when authorities have said a disaster is imminent. Let staff work from home. If you have a practice management software like Smokeball, staff can work and bill from home just as if they were in office.
- Run one disaster drill every year. It’s all eye rolls and gripes until the tornado sirens go off (which did happen in Fort Worth!). Be sure new staff are aware of the emergency plan.
- Review your insurance policies yearly. Know what you’re paying for and what’s covered. For example, does your policy cover lost revenue in addition to property damage? Are cyber incidents covered, or if that is a separate rider?
- Make sure your backup servers are stored at an off-site location, preferably in a completely different geographic area/state. If both your office and backup servers are stored in the same city, then it does no good when a freeze takes out power to both locations.
- Think of yourself as a resource, too. Your staff and clients can’t rely on you if you’re checked out. Part of disaster planning is personal resilience: keep medication lists, emergency contacts, and copies of vital personal documents in secure places.
- Memory is not a strategy—document important details. Stress does strange things to the brain when pressed. Even simple things, like remembering where your offsite servers are located, or your insurance carrier’s name, can vanish under pressure.
