Hurricanes.  Floods.  Wildfires.  Recent headlines of natural disasters overwhelm us.  Unfortunately, some of our clients have been affected by these.  One client of ours called it “a one-two punch:  Irma ripped off the roof [of their office suite] and Maria flooded everything.”  Another client from whom we’d heard after Hurricane Irma but before Maria said his staff was “physically okay” but he’d been informed he could have power restored to his residence “sometime after the new year”.

Both of these clients are law firms.  But no matter what your profession, your business can’t stop; if anything, your clients or customers will need you more than ever.  We’d like to offer suggestions based on the experiences of those firms who survived major destructive events

• Take your computers with you, if possible. If you have one or two workstations, or laptops, they will be safer with you than if they were left behind.
• If you can’t take your computers with you because they are interconnected with servers or dismantling is too complex, be sure that all of your data – or at the very least, critical data — is backed up to either an offsite location or to formats that can be taken with you, such as flash drives.
• Take photographs and videos of your office, particularly concentrating on furniture and equipment and store them offsite in a safe location. Make sure your business assets inventory is complete and up to date.  This is invaluable for insurance claim purposes.
• Important printed documents should be stored in a fireproof safe that is accessible in case you have no power for the foreseeable future. This should include, but not be limited to:  Lists of business contacts (phone numbers & email addresses);  accounting information (tax info, payroll documentation, accounts payable & receivables, credit card information); contacts for utilities (power, water, internet provider).
• Discuss contingency plans with your staff for checking in and remaining in contact with one another.
• It’s also a good idea to keep records of licensing and software ownership. Your software consultants can also help; they should have records if you purchased your programs through them.

The priority in the face of a destructive event is to stay safe and get your operations back on track as quickly as possible.  The consultants at Crosspointe would be happy to answer questions and discuss ways in which we can be of help.  Please call us at 877-357-0555 to discuss contingency planning, or write to us at [email protected].  No one is disaster-proof.  But you can be prepared.

Dana Riel

Dana Riel is President and Founder of Business Solutions, Inc., serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1985. Her firm is the authorized training center for the region for Time Matters and PCLaw by PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC; Timeslips and Sage 50 Accounting by Sage Software; and QuickBooks by Intuit Corporation. She also serves as a consultant for Caret Legal (formerly known as Zola Suite), CosmoLex, Soluno & TimeSolv.  As a trainer, Dana has provided training services to organizations such as the DOD Defense Logistics Agency, Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAG)/Department of the Navy, University of the District of Columbia School of Law, U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as with small‐ to mid‐size law firms in the Baltimore‐Washington D.C. area. In 2009, she participated in the series of day‐long seminars sponsored by the District of Columbia Bar Association Practice Management Section, titled “Basic Training: Learn About Running a Law Office”. Ms. Riel also served as an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University’s Paralegal Studies Program, having taught the course, “Legal Ethics/Legal Technology” in 2009; and “Legal Technology” for the Spring and Summer Semesters of 2010. She presently serves on the Advisory Board for PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC.