By Bill Kammer
This column asks more questions than provides specific answers. The recent power outage in downtown San Diego reminds us all of the hazards inherent in our dependence upon computers, the internet and the cloud. Not long ago, most lawyers had personal control over the devices and systems they used, and stored their client and critical information locally. If they had backups of that information, those backups and disaster recovery tapes were also stored locally. If we learned anything from the impact of disasters like Hurricane Katrina, your backups best not be local and should be in another time zone.
Law office devices and systems have changed dramatically since 2005. Those devices now include mobile phones and tablets in addition to our previous desktop and laptop computers. We may also have virtual assistants such as Ruby Receptionist, store critical information “in the cloud” and use cloud-based software (SaaS) such as Office 365. This dramatically changed environment suggests a need for a timely re-examination of our preservation and recovery procedures before we incur power loss, internet outages or natural disasters.
Consider first an unexpected and sustained power loss such as the recent one in San Diego. (Naturally it happened on a Friday when attorneys were cranking out last-minute filings.) Unless you are fortunate enough to have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), all of your systems will go down and your work-in-progress may be lost. You may lose access to your phone; you will lose access to your desktop and your Wi-Fi network; and you might lose access to the internet. Your internet service provider (ISP) will probably have battery-powered backups in place, but a local power loss will take down your cable modem and your router. If your practice depends upon internet access, consider a small investment in a battery-powered backup power source that could keep your cable modem and router online so you can facilitate immediate disaster recovery.
Some will remember the world of WordPerfect, a lawyer favorite. But law offices have gradually switched to Microsoft Office in the years since. In 2005, those with the Office software suite probably had installed it on every computer in the office. Access to Office has evolved over the years, and more and more clients and law offices are now using Office 365. In fact, Microsoft now reports there are 155 million monthly active users. Software as a service has many advantages for lawyers but also presents several challenges. Our offices may now depend entirely on access to this internet-based software, and the software at times might become unavailable. Whether it’s Office 365 or some other cloud-based software, you can always use downdetector.com to determine whether there are problems at Microsoft. (You may have been one of those affected by a five-hour outage on Nov. 19, 2018: https://istheservicedown.com/problems/office-365/history.)
If you visit downdetector.com, you will see icons for all the principal services and websites we expect to be available to us 24/7. But they all suffer availability problems from time-to-time. There is always the possibility that the problem you see is yours and not Microsoft’s. To check that out, visit downforeveryoneorjustme.com. You may not like the answer, but at least you can know the problem.
Also remember that availability differs from recoverability. If our work product, eDiscovery data and client files are stored in the cloud, where is that storage located? Is it backed up, and where are those backups stored? Can you access those backups in a case of data loss and how do you do that? Considering all the great features of software such as Office 365, still question whether you enjoy comprehensive backup and the complete recovery of your data and work product. Analyzing those issues may be a subject for another day, but there are consultants with advice about services that supplement Office 365 and provide more comprehensive backup and recoverability.
Much has changed since 2005 though we may still operate with a mindset conditioned by sources and services we used to use. A timely reexamination of these issues and challenges is absolutely necessary.
Bill Kammer is a Partner with Solomon Ward Seidenwurm & Smith, LLP.
This article was originally published in the Jan/Feb 2019 issue of San Diego Lawyer.