Would you be prepared in the event of a disaster?

I'll get around to it ... someday! As we all watched in total disbelief the horrific collapse of the World Trade Center in New York, how many of us thought, again, that we really do need to prepare our firm's disaster preparedness and recovery plan. Yet even today, over a decade after the devastation of Hurricane Andrew, many law firms in Florida do not have a disaster plan. Unfortunately, even the most comprehensive of plans won't help when no one survives to carry on. Many of the law firms in the World Trade Center had branch offices elsewhere or, most fortunately, someone survived. In those cases, a disaster recovery plan will be of immense assistance in getting reorganized and back in business.

No disaster recovery plan however, takes away the pain, angst, and losses. They just make it a little easier to recover. I'm occasionally asked if LOMAS can provide a sample disaster preparedness plan. As with many things in life, the answer is both yes and no. On the LOMAS portion of the Florida Bar's Web site, www.Floridabar.org, you will find an outline detailing the many considerations and issues that form the backbone of any disaster preparedness or emergency response plan. The detailed planning and implementation can only be accomplished by input and direction from the firm's leadership--not blindly copied from another's planning guide. Many decisions need to be made beforehand and that's a task best accomplished with guidance from the firm's leadership. Any disaster recovery plan should, at a minimum, address the following issues:

* Employee home, personal, and cell phone numbers, along with home addresses and e-mail addresses will be needed. Establish a telephone tree in order to facilitate staff contact if a disaster occurs. One or two individuals with cell phones should agree to allow individuals to call them in case there is limited telephone service. Lawyers who regularly use a PalmPilot, Blackberry, or similar personal digital assistance can easily update emergency staff information as well as client and case information for use in an emergency.

* Information about a building emergency, security following an emergency, and building access is much easier if the key contact information is at hand when needed. The fire department emergency coordinator in most cases will be working directly with the building management rather than individual tenants during an emergency situation. Having key building management personnel work and home telephone numbers available could be crucial in learning about building access or additional security precautions so that staff can be advised in a timely manner.

* Insurance policy information, including policy numbers, coverage, and contact information following a disaster can be crucial in trying to get the firm operating again as quickly as possible.

Property insurance does not cover damage from flood waters, whether from rivers, bays, offshore water, or other bodies of water. The National Flood Insurance Program provides most of the flood insurance nationwide.

Type of construction, size of structure, proximity to water, and location determine the cost of windstorm insurance. If coverage is not available from your private carrier, policies are provided through Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Citizens offers wind-only policies in areas that qualify, primarily coastal areas in southeast and west central Florida.

Business interruption insurance compensates for' income lost during the restoration period or the time necessary to repair the physical damage to the covered property.

Extended business interruption insurance provides coverage for the income lost after the property is repaired but before a pre-loss level of income is reached. Extra expense insurance reimburses for money spent, over and above normal operating expenses during any restoration period.

You should assign one person to coordinate with the firm's insurance carrier, take photographs of damage, and maintain detailed records of destroyed property (including files) that is thrown away. Also, you should keep receipts for repairs and replacement items.

* The firm's master docket and firmwide calendar will be crucial to the continuation of client representation and quick recovery following a

Fallacies

No. 1 An emergency response plan is a recovery plan. False. An emergency response plan cannot, and will not, recover your business. A full and complete disaster recovery plan is needed.

No. 2 Outside assistance will recover your business. Wrong. Once the pumps stop, the Red Cross serves you food, and you hold your insurance check, the recovery is all yours.

disaster. Recreating a firm's calendar following a disaster could be an impossible task. Emergency preparedness plans should always include a means to restore such vital information. Fortunately, technology today offers a number of alternatives such as: computer backups, personal digital assistants, and off-site data storage. Fortunately, software and the Internet have now advanced technology to the point that working from home is a viable option.

The first 24 hours following a disaster are critical in preventing irreparable damage. Corrosion and mildew damage begin immediately following a fire or flood. Electrical and electronic equipment, while outwardly looking okay, after the delay of six or seven days, may well be beyond economic repair due to internal corrosion. Paper records and files, if wet, will already be in a state of decay from mold, fungal or bacterial growth after such a lengthy delay. Salvage of wet paper will now be much more difficult--if at all possible. The best hope for document recovery, according to experts in the document restoration business, is to quickly freeze all affected documents until professional help becomes available to begin the restoration process. When it comes to disaster, reaction after the fact is never an adequate substitute for planning beforehand.

I am constantly, amazed at the number of firms lacking even the most elementary form of disaster prevention--backing up critical information on their computer system daily and taking the backup off-site every night. Foresight and planning can make the difference between your practice surviving a disaster, or not.

Resources

Disaster Recovery Planning--www.drplanning.org Federal Emergency Management Agency--www.fema.gov/nfip Red Cross--www.redcross.org Institute for Business and Home Safety--www.ibhs.org Also

The U.S. Small Business Administration backs loans of up to $1.5 million for businesses in a declared disaster area that have suffered physical damage. Funds can be used for repair or replacement of real property, equipment, fixtures, and inventory.

J. R. Phelps is director of The Florida Bar's Law Office Management Assistance Service.

This article and others regarding law office disaster preparedness are available at Floridabar.org.