Your Plan – Checklist - Law Society of Alberta

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Business Continuity and Succession Plan Guide and Checklist
Your Plan – Checklist

The following outlines information to include, as appropriate, in your plan. As noted previously, each law firm and each lawyer within a law firm should have a plan. Each plan will be specific to each lawyer and each law firm; however, the following will help you get started with basic plan development.

Review and update your plan whenever circumstances change that may impact the plan. At a minimum, you should review your plan annually to ensure it continues to meet your needs. Check in with your successor lawyer during each annual review to provide updates and discuss any changes about which your successor lawyer should be made aware.

When making and reviewing your plan, do not assume you will be available or have capacity when the time comes to guide your family and others through these difficult decisions.

If you are part of a larger firm, and not responsible for the continuity of the firm itself, adjust the following accordingly. Your colleagues should know where to find your plan so they may locate client lists and passwords, access client files and your calendar (e.g., diary dates, etc.), as necessary to maintain your practice in your absence.

Introductory Information

Lawyer Name
Law Firm Name
Date Plan Developed
Date Plan Reviewed and Revised (this should be done annually)
Successor Lawyer Information
- Successor Lawyer Name
- Successor Lawyer Contact Information
- Date Successor Lawyer Agreement Executed
- Successor Lawyer Agreement (attached or information on where it is located)

Out of Office Procedures for Emergencies, Disasters and Loss of Access to Office

Enable secure remote connection for office systems (e.g., data storage, email, voicemail, accounting, etc.) and test regularly
Notify clients of circumstances
Ensure staff know how to reach you
Set up email and voicemail out of office notifications, as necessary
Have incoming emails and voicemails monitored
Amend website and social media accounts, as necessary
Establish secure off-site data back-ups and test regularly
Establish secure off-site file storage for closed files
Establish secure off-site storage, as necessary, for copies of key documents (wills, insurance policies, law firm’s corporate documents, select client documents, etc.)
Digitize and securely store and back up key documents when possible
Maintain list of all client property, consider secure off-site storage for some or all items and return as quickly as possible when you no longer need to retain the property
Maintain sufficient insurance coverage for law firm office (e.g., commercial general liability, fire, flood, business interruption, etc.)
Maintain list of up-to-date law firm office inventory

Out of Office Procedures for Planned Absences: Short- and Long-Term

Discuss your planned absence with the successor lawyer, including their responsibilities and availability
Notify clients, in advance, whenever possible (see template)
Establish secure remote connection, if necessary
Set up email and voicemail out-of-office notifications
Ensure staff know how to reach you or your successor lawyer
Have incoming emails and voicemails monitored
Ensure successor lawyer is aware of issues that may arise
Prepare transfer memos on each file for the successor lawyer for long-term absences
Notify lawyers on the other side of files of your absence, its duration and of the contact information for your successor lawyer
Obtain the consent of clients for successor lawyer to assist them and keep a record on the file
Consider change to membership status with the Law Society for long-term absence

Out of Office Procedures for Unplanned Absence: Short-, Long-Term and Permanent

Arrange and execute successor lawyer agreement
Ensure it is clear to the successor lawyer and staff what role the successor lawyer will play in various unplanned absence scenarios and when they will step in (e.g., manage files for a time, wind up practice, sell practice, etc.)
Ensure staff know how to contact successor lawyer
Provide instructions regarding notifications to clients of absence and coverage by successor lawyer including the option to continue with the successor lawyer or retain a new lawyer (see template)
Have an emergency folder which is easily accessible to the successor lawyer and key staff, containing:
- emergency contact information for all lawyers and staff
- contact information for successor lawyer
- checklist of all people to advise of absence, including the Law Society, if necessary
- secure list of passwords for all systems in your office or name of person(s) who know the passwords (e.g., voicemail, email, computers/laptops, banking, alarm systems, cellphone, online accounts, social media accounts, off site backups, etc.)
- name of the person who has keys or information on where to find keys to the office, desks, filing cabinets, safety deposit boxes, safes, etc.
- Business Continuity and Succession Plan
- Office Procedure Manual
Provide instructions for staff or your successor lawyer to contact the Trust Safety department at the Law Society to inform them of your absence
Amend out-of-office email and voicemail messages, as necessary
Amend or cancel website and social media accounts, as necessary
Have incoming emails and voicemails monitored
Discuss the transfer or wind up of your legal practice with your successor lawyer in case the absence becomes permanent
Make periodic memos to file or file status checklists so your successor lawyer will know the status of your files if you lack capacity to tell them
Provide instructions to cancel maintenance contracts, leases, rentals, etc. as necessary for transfer or wind up
Provide instructions, as necessary, for notifications of office closure
Provide instructions on where to find or how to access employment contracts
Provide instructions to notify Law Society if the Professional Corporation should be terminated
Provide instructions to notify Law Society of death of lawyer

Files: Open and Closed

Provide instructions on how to find, or generate, a list of all open files, their current status, client contact information and retainer agreement (with consent for successor lawyer to assist client)
Provide instructions on how to find, or access, a list of court dates, deadlines, limitation periods and all other key file dates
Provide instructions on where to find, or how to access, an up-to-date list of undertakings
Include documentation on each open file sufficient to allow the successor lawyer to assume conduct of the file without delay and expense to clients
Note the names of all parties on the outside of client files to prevent disclosure of confidential information in the event the successor lawyer has a conflict of interest
Include documentation to identify open Legal Aid files
Provide information where to find, and how to access, off-site data backup
Provide instructions on where to find, or how to generate, up-to-date time and billing records
Provide instructions regarding transferring or closing open files, if necessary
Provide instructions regarding:
- collecting accounts receivable
- billing for work in progress
- ensure successor lawyer agreement outlines billing, for example:
  - for business continuity, will files be billed at your rate or the successor lawyer’s rate, if different?
  - for business continuity, how will the successor lawyer be compensated for coverage during your absence?
  - for succession, it is common that an agreement be made that the successor lawyer will immediately bill open files in order to distinguish cut-off of fees belonging to the estate from those which will be earned by the successor lawyer
  - for succession, ensure there is a provision for the splitting of fees between the estate and the successor lawyer on open contingency files
  - provide instructions for successor lawyer on liaising with estate representative on billing where it may be unclear, if necessary
Provide instructions on where to find, or how to generate, a list of closed files, their location and destruction date
Provide instructions regarding proper storage of closed files and destruction as per destruction dates
Provide Retention and Destruction Policy (ensure you are up to date in following the policy and that you close and destroy closed files regularly in accordance with the policy)
Provide instructions to contact the Law Society for assistance with file storage requirements, if necessary

Finances

Provide instructions for staff or your successor lawyer to contact the Trust Safety department to inform them of the absence
Set up signing authority for cheques for planned absences (see Part 5 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta – Trust Accounting Rules)
Confirm with the Law Society that the successor lawyer will be able to have Responsible Lawyer status for long-term absences
Determine and comply with the approved depository requirements for the successor lawyer to access bank accounts (attach documentation)
Provide instructions of where to find or how to access accounting records and ensure all monthly reconciliations are completed
Provide instructions for any transfer or wind up of practice and comply with Trust Accounting Rules (see Rules 119.62 and 119.63)
Prepare a list of all bank account information (e.g., trust and general, account numbers, location, signatories, etc.)
Prepare a list of all investments made on behalf of clients (e.g., list of separate interest-bearing accounts, account numbers, location, signatories, etc.)
Prepare a list of any financial arrangements of the practice
Track, and work to eliminate, client trust money balances older than two years (see Rule 119.43 regarding unattributed or undisbursable trust money)
Prepare a list of all client property and return as quickly as possible when you no longer need to retain the property
Securely record all accounting and financial information, access codes and passwords and identify the location of the records in your planning instructions
General account and creditor information:
- provide list of all automatic payments and payment dates
- provide list of all other payments and due dates
- for succession, provide instructions to liaise with estate representative on payment of creditors
- for succession, provide instructions to liaise with estate representative to remit remaining funds in the general account to the estate
  for succession, provide instructions to involve accountant for the estate in tax filings for the corporation.
- provide instructions to pay or close accounts payable accounts, as necessary (i.e., provide detailed information about each account, payment dates, anticipated amounts, etc.)
Provide information about GST collection and remittance (e.g., account number, frequency, by who, by when, etc.)
Provide information about corporate tax filings (e.g., account number, installment payments, by who, by when, etc.)
Provide payroll instructions (e.g., frequency, amounts, by who, by when, etc.)
Provide payroll remittance instructions (e.g., frequency, amounts, by who, by when, etc.)

Key Documents

Maintain a list of all original wills and other original client documents (consider returning original documents to clients rather than retaining them)
Maintain a list of all minute books and corporate seals (consider returning minute books and seals to clients rather than retaining them and notify the client of the need to update the location of the minute books and corporate seal with the Corporate Registry).
Prepare a list, including location, of important personal and law firm documents (will, power of attorney, contracts, leases, insurance policies, etc.)

Other Considerations

For law firms of greater than two lawyers:
- prepare a list of who within the law firm will cover short-term absences for a lawyer
- prepare a list of who within the law firm will cover long-term absences for a lawyer
- prepare a list of who within the law firm will take over or wind up a colleague’s practice for a permanent absence
- prepare a contingency plan for the absence of key law firm roles, such as a managing partner, office administrator, accountant, etc.
- determine who, if anyone, will assume contracts, leases, rentals, etc. if they are in a lawyer’s name rather than the law firm’s name or if they will be terminated
Discuss all financial issues for the succession portion of the plan, such as what happens to the law firm’s assets, how do law firm liabilities get covered, what is your mutual understanding of the successor lawyer’s entitlements, desired arrangements to support your family, etc.
Consider financial arrangements to cover your office overhead and other expenses during an absence, such as an unused line of credit and/or life and disability insurance
Consider critical illness or disability insurance or other income replacement to cover an absence
Seek legal and accounting advice to identify or advise on issues about which you may require assistance

View a printable version of this checklist in the full PDF guide.

View the other sections of the guide: