Peer to Peer Magazine

the quarterly magazine of ILTA 87 Peer to Peer call lists become stale. Keeping track of changed phone numbers is difficult. The more people in the mix, the larger the problem. Do maintain and test a chain-of-command call list. • This means contacting each person to verify the information is correct. Don • 't think that updating the list every 12 months is good enough. It isn't. The emergency call list gets stale quickly. Know Where People are. People often flee their homes when a hurricane is bearing down on them. Where are they going? Do make a list of alternate contact information for each • employee. Employees should be able to tell you where they are likely to go or whom they may contact first during and after a disaster. For an impending disaster, such as an approaching hurricane, have each employee verify where he/ she will be staying during the storm. Don • 't think that employees will tell you each time their contact or alternate contact information changes. It must be verified with the employee at regular intervals. Establish alternate communication Paths. Careful consideration should be given to having more than one way to contact people, especially the key personnel charged with recovery efforts. Do consider mandatory land lines at the homes of key • employees. Phones over broadband or wireless providers may not function when there are major power outages in a region. Do test communication paths during minor events, such • as area power outages, winter storms, minor hurricanes and earthquakes. You'll quickly be surprised at how difficult it is to contact someone. Don • 't think that your PDa/cell phone will be your lone communication device during and after a disaster. During the crisis of 9/11, the cell towers were jammed. Purportedly during Katrina, many cell towers were inoperable, creating poor or nonexistent signal zones in areas that didn't have signal problems before. You do need to have your PDA with you at all times, and you should also consider having a few two-way radios that can be used in your office. A satellite phone in the firm's tool kit could help when everything else down. Consider a hand-crank radio with a USB charger for use during extended power outages. BUSIneSS SeRVICeS ReSUMPTIOn You've got a canoe, a paddle and a paddler –– now what? You need the rushing river! The river is analogous to the business services that make the firm operate. You've got accessible data, you can communicate with your personnel, and now you're bringing business-critical services online to keep the firm afloat. Know the Expected Recovery time objective. The recovery time objective (RTO) is the time you need to get services/ systems operational after a disruption or disaster has occurred. The stakeholders of the firm should dictate and/or approve the RTO for each critical system. Do work with senior management to establish the • appropriate Rto's for every critical service. Ensure that the executives of the firm know how long it takes to get important systems back up and running, which will prevent you from having to execute your personal disaster recovery plan (resumé distribution and job search). Don • 't assume the Rto you established with management two years ago is still valid. Review your firm's RTO with stakeholders at regular intervals. Know the system interdependencies. Sometimes you have to bring up a lower priority system to get a critical service back online. As an example, the conflicts department might need to be fully functional before accounts payable needs to be operational. However, with some systems, conflict checking is part of or tightly integrated with the financial system, requiring you to bring the financial system online before the conflicts system will operate properly. Do consult each department manager about the order in • which required services need to come online. Have annual checks with those department heads to confirm what services they would need immediately, later, and much later after a disaster, and test the recovery of those critical services to ensure you know all the interdependencies. Don • 't underestimate how chaotic it will be when you have attorneys and department heads saying "me first" on the recovery of services after a disaster. Establish the business priorities ahead of time and obtain executive approval. Servicing clients is likely the top priority of any firm. Without billable work, the canoe will sink rapidly. I've fallen out of my canoe a few times due to lack of practice. I've also learned from watching others go down with the ship. The "Dos and Don'ts" above are the results of lessons learned from personal experience or from others. I'm hopeful this advice can ensure your safe trip down the river. ILTA

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