Protecting electronic data and paper files

By Mark Williams

In the day-to-day rush to meet the urgent needs of clients and simultaneously keep your law practice moving forward, it’s all too easy to put aside planning for that one moment in time when disaster can wipe out all you’ve worked for. Whether it’s an earthquake, a broken water pipe or the actions of a disgruntled employee, your precious paper files and electronic data can be gone in an instant.

That’s why it is imperative that you take time soon — if you haven’t already done so — to pre-empt the total destruction of your data with a little disaster planning. Here are a few tips to help you prepare and evaluate your plan.

Paper records

Considerations for protecting and storing paper records are somewhat different from those for electronic records. While paper documents might not deteriorate as quickly as the data on compact discs or magnetic tapes, there are still some important points to keep in mind:

• Start by identifying the particular files or groups of files you will need first in the event of a disaster. These files should be the most readily accessible.
• Make sure your materials are organized and that each box is indexed and labeled as completely and accurately as possible. Your vendor’s ability to serve you quickly after a disaster will depend, in large part, on the quality of information you provide.
• One of the best ways to ensure good organization is to have a consistent filing method throughout your entire firm. You don’t want each practice area or person using a different filing system.
• Pay attention to the construction of the boxes you use to store your files. Double-walled boxes are the strongest and can withstand being transported and stacked.
• You will probably want a storage facility that is close enough for your records to be delivered the same day you request them or, at most, the next day. After the disaster, you are going to want to get up and running again as quickly as possible.
• It is also your responsibility to ensure that the vendor you choose is well organized and meets your standards for quality. Take time to visit your vendor’s facility to see that it is clean and that the items already stored there are in good order.
• You should have the inventory system for your files on your own database, not just on your vendor’s database. Incidentally, the industry standard is for records storage cartons to be bar-coded, not coded by hand.

Electronic records

Undoubtedly, or should I say hopefully, someone in your firm is already backing up your electronic data on a regular daily basis. However, do you know the rotation method for the back-up medium? How often is the back-up made and exactly what is being backed up? While it is tempting to leave these matters to your IT staff, the reality is that it is just as important for you to know how you’re protecting your electronic records as it is for you to know your firm’s financial status. The loss of one could certainly affect the other.

One risky practice in some firms is for an IT person to take the back-up media home each night. While the person is likely doing this with the best possible intentions, did you know that your employee is technically still on the firm clock? If he or she is in a car accident, you may be liable.

Also, what if the person is out for several days in a row? Or what if there is a disaster on the weekend and your “keeper of the back-up” is out of town? And what if you need to terminate that employee? He or she has your precious and confidential data in hand.

For these reasons and more, you might want to consider off-site storage of your electronic data back-ups, in addition to your paper records. Here are a few important points to consider regarding storage of electronic materials:

• TRANSPORTATION Your storage vendor should use protective transport containers designed for the particular type of media you are using. Containers should be steel or hard plastic, fit securely around the media and have padding on the inside.
• TEMPERATURE The storage facility should be temperature- and humidity-controlled to prevent deterioration. It should also be fireproof.
• STATIC ELECTRICITY Carpeting and/or vacuuming may cause static electricity, which can damage or destroy your data.
• CLEANLINESS Your materials might be damaged or lost in a dirty or cluttered environment.
• INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Your data protection vendor should provide you a software package that will help you manage your storage inventory, both what you have in-house and what is off site. This will help you avoid overwriting data you want to protect.

The cost of storing your paper and electronic files off site will vary by the type of media used, quantity of material stored, required storage environment and length of storage time.

Here are a few issues to consider when you sign a contract with a storage vendor:

• What performance standards must the vendor meet (data integrity, delivery speed and so forth)?
• Is the facility open 24/7?
• Is there a way to get access to your data when the facility is closed?
• Is the vendor willing to fax records to you or scan them and e-mail them?
• Is rush service available? If so, what is the fee for this service?

Protecting your data with proper, readily accessible storage can be the best and cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy. A firm that spends an ever-increasing amount for malpractice insurance premiums should consider the wisdom of making a relatively small investment in protecting and insuring its most precious asset: its paper and electronic data.

• Mark Williams is president of Williams Records Management, a Los Angeles-based records and information management company that specializes in hard copy and electronic data protection and document destruction for law firms.

Reprinted courtesy of The Bottom Line, the official publication of the State Bar’s Law Practice Management and Technology Section.