Double Trouble: Is Your Data Backup What You Think It Is?

Data backup has always been a difficult puzzle for law firms, who traditionally traffic in documents heavily – whether they’re electronic or paper.  So, managing files is always a concern for lawyers, and that concern is often exacerbated by disorganization – lots of law firms are scattered in terms of document storage.  The good news is that there’s an easy solution for that: centralize your documents in one place, preferably in the cloud.  And, lots of law firms accomplish that by moving everything over to a cloud drive, and integrating that tool with a case management software. 

The mistake that law firms make is assuming, at that point, that they have created a data backup.  In most cases, they have not. 

 

First off, check to see whether your case management software is also saving your files.  It may just be creating a pathway to access the document, via your cloud drive.  So, that’s not a backup, because if you lose access to that cloud drive, you can’t get your documents.  In a similar vein, a lot of attorneys will tell me: well, Microsoft, or Amazon Web Services, or Google backs up the data.  But, that doesn’t mean a damn thing to your law firm, if you can’t access Google Drive or OneDrive.  So, a backup is really an alternate access point for your data, if the first one fails.  So, if Google Drive is down, where do you get your stuff?  If the answer is: you don’t know, then you don’t have a backup. 

 

In an ideal world, you’ll probably have at least a couple of data backups = an online, incremental one, like Carbonite, or BackBlaze, or CrashPlan (if your primary cloud drive is inaccessible) + a physical backup device, like an encrypted harddrive or thumbdrive (if your primary cloud and online backup is inaccessible). 

 

Data backup is really about options, and most law firms don’t give themselves enough of them. 

 

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If your data backup protocol needs some tweaking, we can help! 

Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, Vermont Bar Association members have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discounted rate.

To get started, visit Red Cave's Vermont Bar Association landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.