Starting a Law Firm | Planning for Disaster

It's the kind of thing we never like to think about when starting a law firm, much less plan for. Disaster. It could be a disaster caused caused by health, by natural disaster, or by any other number of problems. But when it strikes, it is important to be prepared.

And the preparation can be intense. There are a lot of things to think about. What if you get hurt? Do you have a plan in place to make sure your clients are adequately represented? Do you have a way to keep the firm up and running in your absence? Starting a law firm is about more than making money and helping people. It is about building a sustainable business, a legacy, something that can carry on when you are gone. And you have to plan for your absence early.

Another thing that you need to think about is building up enough of a cushion in case you fall victim to some unforeseen economic crisis. You have to keep paying your bills, your loans, and your employees whether or not you have money coming in. Right now, I have about 3 months of operating costs available should the worst happen. When I started my law firm the plan was to have it at 6 months. It's important to have a way to keep going in times of crisis (and not panic and throw good money after bad).

Last, but not least, is a natural, or unnatural, natural disaster. Hurricane Katrina showed us the devastation that can befall us at any time, and we have to have a plan to keep the shop up and running, which includes your files and important documents. Here in Seattle we are susceptible to earthquakes. A devastating earthquake could shut down everything here for a great deal of time.

When I opened my law firm I already had a plan in place in many ways. I didn't want to be tied to my office anyway, so I thought early about how to provide access to myself, and my eventual staff, to everything we needed no matter where we were in the world. I did this with DropBox, a "cloud" program that allows you to safely store your documents away from your office. And the best part? It's really cheap.

So, as you begin setting up to open a law firm, think about what you are going to do if things don't go right, if there is a disaster. That way if something does come up, you can handle it quickly and with a plan.