There must be something in the air.

During the past month, I have had an unusual set of client emergencies. While most were resolved without too much effort or pain, all could have been avoided. I hope if my clients recognize themselves, they'll forgive me and will understand that using their situations could help others avoid the same problems.

It started with a call from a client who upgraded about two years ago from stand-alone computers to a network. Last year, the client added internet access so bills could be sent electronically to some clients. While the firm installed anti-virus software on the workstations, the server was unprotected. A nasty virus attacked the server early last month, causing the hard drive to suddenly fill up with bogus files. It took the network vendor a few days to figure out the problem stemmed from a virus.

I'm fanatical about stressing the importance of backing up data. My mantra to clients is, "You can't have enough backups." For accounting, billing and case management programs, I suggest using the backup utility included by the product vendor, naming the files for each day of the week, if the vendor doesn't already do that. On the following Monday, if nothing catastrophic has happened, back up again over the previous week's files.

Firms that have a central server backed up onto tapes will have at least five different snapshots of its data on each tape. This immediately provides more options, assuming there has been verification the tapes are working and a set is regularly taken off-site. For billing and accounting systems, I also recommend doing a named backup just before posting or approving bills or completing a bank reconciliation. This will allow firms to turn back the clock if necessary.

Firms with a computer system that has a CD writer included may also want to copy files to a CD periodically and take it home as an additional backup. Again, it's important to label the CD and make sure it contains the intended files.

Fortunately, my client had faithfully followed my recommendation for backing up time-and-billing data. Once the virus was removed, we refreshed the licenses and the firm was back up and running. We knew we could roll the database back to just before the problems began if necessary. In the end, we didn't have to.

However, as a result of the scare and cost of the cleanup, my client immediately ordered and installed Norton Anti-Virus Corporate Edition and a firewall. The main advantages of the Corporate Edition are that it protects the server and sends new virus definitions to all the connected computers without any involvement from those users. This keeps the entire firm's virus definitions current. The firewall keeps intruders from a network that has a continuous internet connection. Unfortunately, too many people have too much time on their hands and search for vulnerable networks. A firewall makes unauthorized access to a firm's network impossible. Those on a limited budget can download a few software-based firewall programs such as the one from zonelabs.com. Better yet, purchase a hardware-based firewall such as those from sohosoftware.net.

Missing password

The next call was from a hardware vendor trying to help a client. It seems the firm's senior partner died suddenly and took the supervisor password for the billing system with him to the grave. After combing the late partner's office, no one could locate the password. I was able to use a utility I had learned at a training session the previous month to disable the password.

And then this call was probably the scariest of the bunch. One Sunday in a suburban office park, my client's peer-to-peer file server was stolen from under his secretary's desk, along with a laptop from an office on another floor. I'm not sure I would have been as calm as my client when faced with the loss of years of accumulated data. About six months ago, the client, then using an earlier version of its billing program, had a serious data error that required running some utilities to repair. In the late winter, the firm converted to the latest version of the program and in the early spring moved to a new office. At that time, the partner asked the secretary to back up billing data on a CD.

When I arrived, the partner was holding the CD, confident that, at worst, we would have data back to March and the firm would only have to redo April to June. The CD had no label but was in a case that had a March date on the cover. Unfortunately, the data in the files on the CD were last December; somehow the wrong files were saved.

The one lucky break for my client is that the program disks used to temporarily put the program onto one of the remaining computers while waiting for a replacement server to arrive hadn't been stolen with the file server. After installing the program on a different computer, I restored the data from the CD. To make an already bad situation worse, that data was from the previous version and contained the corruption that had been cleaned up months ago. After reconverting it, redoing the data repair and creating a new bill template, my client could enter slips for the current month, make some adjustment entries to bring the previous balances to the correct amounts and process the bills.

While the firm had been diligent about daily server backups, it never copied them to a removable media like a CD or zip disk, much less taking a copy periodically off-site. Needless to say, the firm learned a painful and expensive lesson. Now, it's backing up both on the server and off, and removing a copy from the office.

To move files around while at the firm's office, I used a little USB drive. These can attach to a key chain, cost about $150, hold 256 MB of data and plug into a USB port. It's literally a portable hard drive, and as an extra form of backup, it can't be beat. You'll need at least a Windows 98 computer and you'll know you have a USB port if there's a small rectangle shape on either the front or back of the computer. Once connected, computer files can be copied and pasted to the USB drive. How's that for inexpensive peace of mind?

Make a batch

Here's an old DOS-based technique, but it's worth mentioning, especially for firms with peer-to-peer networks. Another way to streamline making either a CD or zip disk is to set up a "batch" file that copies backup files from a folder on a local computer to another, and from there to a CD or zip drive. The steps will vary from one office to another, but the basic steps are to open Windows Notepad and type text similar to this:

copy f:\timeslips\backups\*.* c:\backup;

copy f:\timematters\backup\*.* c:\backup;

copy c:\backup\*.* d:\backup.

In this example, the F drive would be the network drive. The first line copies the daily backup of the billing program to a folder on the local drive. The next line copies the daily backup of the case management program to the local drive. The last line copies all files from the local drive to an external drive such as a CD or zip disk. To save the file in Notepad, choose Save As, then under Save As Type, change the option to All Files. Name the file something like Backup.bat. The .bat will identify the file as a batch file - a program that can be run. You may need help from someone comfortable with DOS to assist with testing, troubleshooting and placing a file shortcut on your desktop to make these backups as easy as pressing a button.

Sabotage

The last call involved employee sabotage. The firm fired an employee who assisted with data entry in the billing program but rather than asking her to leave immediately, the firm allowed her to work three weeks. Guess what? She wreaked havoc on the data in the firm's billing program! While I'm not an expert on labor law, I know enough about people to realize when someone is fired, that person no longer has any reason to be loyal and may, in fact, become vindictive. Instead, provide severance pay and insist the person leave that day and not return to the office. It's wiser to give them the money and let them spend the time looking for a new job rather than risk damage.

In this instance again, my client was lucky. The damage was minor and easily fixed. However, we did rethink and reconfigure the security rights of the people using the billing program to limit the access employees have to change or delete data.

What all these clients learned is that the little time invested in a good and regular backup policy can pay off. What I have learned is I need to rest up for another month of crazy calls from clients who don't read these columns!


Carol L. Schlein is president of Law Office Systems in Montclair, a training and consulting firm specializing in law firm automation. She was recently named Technolawyer Community's Legal Consultant of the Year. Previous columns are on her company website, losinc.com. For information about her quarterly meetings, training classes and materials, check the website or e-mail info@losinc.com. Schlein formerly chaired the Computer and Technology Division of the ABA Law Practice Management Section.

Questions for Carol L. Schlein on law office technology may be faxed to New Jersey Lawyer at (732) 650-7010, e-mailed to news@njlnews.com or mailed to "Law Technology Questions," New Jersey Lawyer, Edison Square, 2035 Lincoln Highway, Suite 3005, Edison, N.J. 08817.