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Book
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for Law Firms
Published: 2008
Pages: 126
eBook: 9781906355302
This vital new resource will provide you with the necessary tools to ensure that your firm is equipped to respond quickly and effectively to any business disruption, thereby preventing far-reaching repercussions on revenue, incoming work and reputation.
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for Law Firms is a comprehensive step-by-step management guide to devising and implementing an effective business continuity plan for your firm.
This vital new resource will provide you with the necessary tools to ensure that your firm is equipped to respond quickly and effectively to any business disruption, thereby preventing far-reaching repercussions on revenue, incoming work and reputation. Case studies and contributions from top law firms including DLA Piper, Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Clifford Chance and more will also provide you with proven business continuity solutions and mechanisms used to respond to crises, overcome disaster and protect your firm.
Areas covered include:
+ Examining the risks facing your firm in the current business climate;
+ Evaluating the likelihood and severity of disruption;
+ Establishing an appropriate continuity plan;
+ Refining and strengthening the main components of your plan;
+ Regulatory imperatives;
+ Internal factors to consider in effective BC planning;
+ IT resilience; data security and systems access;
+ Embedding a disaster recovery process into the culture of your firm;
+ Testing and monitoring the plan to ensure ongoing resilience;
+ Process review: ensuring your BCP is in line with your business strategy;
+ Communication strategies in the event of disruption; and
+ Managing reputational risk; reducing damage and handling press;
This vital new resource will provide you with the necessary tools to ensure that your firm is equipped to respond quickly and effectively to any business disruption, thereby preventing far-reaching repercussions on revenue, incoming work and reputation. Case studies and contributions from top law firms including DLA Piper, Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Clifford Chance and more will also provide you with proven business continuity solutions and mechanisms used to respond to crises, overcome disaster and protect your firm.
Areas covered include:
+ Examining the risks facing your firm in the current business climate;
+ Evaluating the likelihood and severity of disruption;
+ Establishing an appropriate continuity plan;
+ Refining and strengthening the main components of your plan;
+ Regulatory imperatives;
+ Internal factors to consider in effective BC planning;
+ IT resilience; data security and systems access;
+ Embedding a disaster recovery process into the culture of your firm;
+ Testing and monitoring the plan to ensure ongoing resilience;
+ Process review: ensuring your BCP is in line with your business strategy;
+ Communication strategies in the event of disruption; and
+ Managing reputational risk; reducing damage and handling press;
Table of Contents
| Cover | Cover | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | i | |
| Copyright | ii | |
| Contents | iii | |
| Executive summary | vii | |
| The regulatory landscape | vii | |
| PART ONE Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning and Management for Law Firms | 1 | |
| Chapter 1: The business continuity landscape | 3 | |
| A more risk-aware culture | 3 | |
| A catch-up job? | 4 | |
| Learning from experience | 5 | |
| The regulatory framework | 5 | |
| From recovery to continuity | 6 | |
| A US perspective | 7 | |
| Chapter 2: Putting together a business continuity plan | 9 | |
| Risk assessment | 9 | |
| Pulling the plan together | 10 | |
| Testing and monitoring the plan | 12 | |
| The basics of a BCP | 13 | |
| Chapter 3: IT and business continuity | 15 | |
| Data protection | 16 | |
| So what are firms doing? | 17 | |
| Information security/data protection | 18 | |
| Remote working | 19 | |
| Different models of data-centre outsourcing | 20 | |
| Chapter 4: Crisis management – when reputation is on the line | 23 | |
| What constitutes a crisis? | 24 | |
| External crisis management | 24 | |
| Internal communication | 25 | |
| Q&A | 26 | |
| The white-knuckle ride of reputation management | 28 | |
| Facing the future | 29 | |
| Chapter 5: The psychology of disaster recovery | 31 | |
| The wide-ranging likelihood of trauma | 34 | |
| A human-factors checklist | 35 | |
| Chapter 6: The road ahead | 37 | |
| Practical steps for developing pragmatic plans | 40 | |
| PART TWO Case Studies | 41 | |
| Case study 1: Allen & Overy – When disaster strikes | 43 | |
| The drive for BCM | 43 | |
| Preliminary processes | 44 | |
| Scope | 44 | |
| The importance of communications | 45 | |
| Responding to the media during and after a crisis | 45 | |
| People issues | 45 | |
| The drive for resilience | 46 | |
| Exercising the plan | 46 | |
| Maintenance and review | 47 | |
| Creating awareness | 47 | |
| Case study 2: Ashurst – Continuity planning and review | 49 | |
| What do you think are the real drivers for business continuity planning among law firms today? | 49 | |
| How do you assess the likely risks that might affect business continuity in your firm? | 49 | |
| What key elements does your BCP include? | 49 | |
| What recommendations would you have for testing the plan? | 49 | |
| How do you ensure that your fee earners and other staff would know how to respond in the event of a crisis? | 50 | |
| What plans, if any, do you have to further build on your business continuity planning? | 50 | |
| Case study 3: Clifford Chance – The importance of communication | 51 | |
| Tell me about the major challenges of your role as business continuity manager at Clifford Chance. | 51 | |
| In your view, what are the biggest obstacles to establishing a working BCP in a law firm? | 51 | |
| What do you consider to be the most important elements of an effective BCP? | 51 | |
| How do you work with others across the firm? | 52 | |
| What do you think are the most important factors in making a success of a BCP? | 52 | |
| How is your BCP tested and monitored? | 52 | |
| In your opinion, what would be the major reasons for a BCP failing when put to the test? | 52 | |
| How do you keep people updated on your BCP? | 53 | |
| How do you put together your crisis management team? | 53 | |
| What further plans, if any, do you have for building on your BCP? | 53 | |
| Case study 4: Irwin Mitchell – Implementing the security standard BS7799 | 55 | |
| The importance of information security | 55 | |
| Choice of partner | 56 | |
| Rolling out the project | 56 | |
| Looking to the future | 57 | |
| Case study 5: Irwin Mitchell – Fighting the floods | 59 | |
| Case study 6: Virtually bombproof | 61 | |
| Learning from the past | 61 | |
| Waste not, want not | 61 | |
| A neat trick | 61 | |
| Virtualisation to the rescue | 62 | |
| The road to recovery | 63 | |
| Server state | 63 | |
| Data replication | 63 | |
| Knowledge is power | 64 | |
| The right time to invest | 64 | |
| Case study 7: Norton Rose LLP – It’s all in the IT-security planning | 67 | |
| How did Norton Rose Group achieve this level of protection? | 68 | |
| Case study 8: The abrupt audit of a crisis – sink, drift or swim? | 71 | |
| Crisis management | 72 | |
| Reed Elsevier: delivering a realistic table-top exercise | 73 | |
| Case study 9: Risk management trends | 77 | |
| The main issues | 78 | |
| Roles and responsibilities | 78 | |
| A framework for training delivery | 78 | |
| A virtual benchmark | 80 | |
| Real-life case studies: this could happen to you! | 80 | |
| Influencing behaviours and adding value | 81 | |
| Case study 10: DLA Piper: Managing business continuity | 83 | |
| Business continuity strategy | 83 | |
| Plans for key risks | 85 | |
| Plans for specialised support functions | 85 | |
| Education and training | 85 | |
| Communication | 86 | |
| Rehearsals and tests | 86 | |
| Where next? | 86 | |
| Index | 87 |
Caroline Poynton
Clive Restall, global business continuity manager, Allen & Overy
Charmian May, partnership secretary, Ashurst
Chris Vigrass, director of risk management, Ashurst
Sam Clark, business continuity manager, Clifford Chance
Malcolm Todd, head of systems delivery, Norton Rose LLP
Peter Power, managing director, Visor Consultants (UK) Limited
Joanna Goodman
Julia Graham, chief risk officer, DLA Piper