PC Law Backup and Disaster Recovery

Why PC Law backup is different from ordinary file backup

PC Law runs on a database that is actively being written to throughout the business day. Copying the underlying database files while they are open, the way a simple file-sync tool would, risks capturing a corrupted or inconsistent copy that looks fine until you actually try to restore it. A proper PC Law backup needs to either close the application during the backup window or use backup software capable of capturing a database in a consistent state while it runs.

This distinction matters more for PC Law than for most business applications because trust accounting records carry both legal and regulatory weight, tied directly to the Law Society of Ontario's bookkeeping requirements for trust funds.

What a proper backup routine includes

• Automated daily backups of the PC Law database, captured in an application-consistent state
• An offsite or cloud copy stored separately from the primary server, protected against ransomware with immutable or air-gapped storage
• Retention long enough to meet Law Society recordkeeping obligations, not a generic 30-day default
• Monitoring that alerts the firm's IT provider if a backup job fails, rather than discovering the gap during an actual emergency
• Documentation of exactly what is backed up, how often, and where copies are stored

Testing restores, not just running backups

A backup that has never been restored is an assumption, not a safeguard. Restore testing means actually recovering the PC Law database to a test environment periodically and confirming the data opens correctly and matches expectations, catching problems with the backup process itself before a real emergency exposes them.

Firms should ask their IT provider directly when the last successful restore test was performed and expect a specific, documented answer rather than a general assurance that backups are running.

Disaster recovery planning beyond the backup itself

Backup answers the question of whether your data exists somewhere safe. Disaster recovery answers the harder question of how quickly the firm can get back to work after a server failure, ransomware attack, or building-level event like a fire or flood.

• A documented recovery time objective: how long the firm can tolerate PC Law being unavailable
• A documented recovery point objective: how much data loss, measured in time, is acceptable in a worst case
• A plan for recovering PC Law to alternate hardware if the primary server is destroyed or compromised
• A communication plan for notifying staff and, if required, clients or regulators in the event of a serious incident

Ransomware-specific considerations for trust accounting data

Ransomware that encrypts a server hosting PC Law puts trust accounting records at direct risk, and paying a ransom is not a recovery plan a firm should rely on. Immutable backup storage, meaning copies that cannot be altered or deleted even by an attacker with administrative access, is the control that actually protects against this scenario. This aligns with broader cybersecurity practices every firm handling client funds should have in place regardless of which billing software they use.

Coordinating backup with Primafact if both applications share a server

Firms running both PC Law and Primafact on the same server should design a single backup plan covering both applications' data rather than two disconnected jobs, since both need application-consistent capture and both deserve the same restore testing discipline. See our guide to running Primafact and PC Law together and the companion Primafact backup and disaster recovery guide for the document management side of this picture.

Building the plan into ongoing IT support

1. Confirm current backup configuration covers the PC Law database specifically, not just general file shares.
2. Verify offsite or cloud copies exist and are protected against ransomware.
3. Document retention periods against Law Society recordkeeping expectations.
4. Schedule a restore test and record the results in writing.
5. Review the disaster recovery plan annually as part of ongoing backup and disaster recovery and managed IT services.

Frequently asked questions