Low-Tech Disaster Planning Tips for Law Firms
Summary
The ABA Law Practice division published a podcast episode offering practical low-tech disaster recovery strategies for law firms, drawing on lessons from Hurricane Katrina. The episode recommends maintaining a physical critical information binder with key contacts, account details, and password references in non-identifying form, and advises posting redundant client-facing messages with updated contact information during outages. It emphasises that lawyers' professional ethical obligations to clients remain in force during disasters.
“lawyers' ethical obligations to clients are not suspended during disasters”
What changed
The ABA Law Practice division published a podcast episode providing low-tech disaster planning advice for law firms based on Hurricane Katrina experience. The episode recommends maintaining a physical critical information binder with key contacts, bank account information, and password references in non-identifying form, and advises firms to post calm, redundant client-facing messages with updated contact information when power and communications fail.
Legal professionals should treat these recommendations as practical baseline measures for business continuity planning. While not regulatory requirements, the tips may inform bar association guidance on professional responsibility and competence standards during emergencies.
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Apr 21, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
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In this episode of the Law Practice Podcast, the host interviews Shawn L. Holahan about disaster planning for law firms, drawing on her experience as a New Orleans litigator displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Holahan explains how a simple laminated wallet card with key phone numbers helped him reconnect with her firm when power and communications failed, underscoring that low-tech tools can be critical when “the power’s out.” She outlines a practical disaster recovery approach centered on a low-tech critical information binder containing family and staff contact details, bank account information, and password references listed in a non-identifying way, plus guidance on posting calm, redundant client-facing messages with updated contact information. Holahan emphasizes that lawyers’ ethical obligations to clients are not suspended during disasters, and encourages broadening the definition of “disaster” beyond hurricanes.
Speakers
Terrell A Turner
Terrell A Turner, CPA is the founder of the NY Times recognized accounting firm www.TLTurnerGroup.com. He is a 3x top CPA in America, and a 2x Top 20 Global Finance Influencer. His accounting firm focuses on making...
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Shawn L Holahan
...
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