This short, practical course introduces the essentials of business continuity planning and testing for law firms, with a focus on proportionate, workable arrangements rather than overly complex or theoretical plans.
Participants will explore the key risks that most commonly disrupt practices, including IT failure, cyber incidents, staff absence, loss of premises, and critical supplier failure, and how these risks interact with regulatory duties, client care obligations, and professional indemnity considerations.
The session will guide firms through the core elements of an effective Business Continuity Plan (BCP), including identifying critical functions, prioritising services, setting realistic recovery objectives, and ensuring staff know what to do when something goes wrong. We’ll also discuss how to undertake an effective tabletop BCP test.
The emphasis is on creating a plan that is usable in a crisis, regularly reviewed, and aligned with the firm’s size, structure, and risk profile.
Target Audience
- Partners, directors, and owners of law firms
- Practice managers and operations managers
- Compliance Officers for Legal Practice (COLPs) and Compliance Officers for Finance and Administration (COFAs)
- Senior administrators with responsibility for risk, compliance, or operational resilience