The ‘quality versus quantity’ discussion has been prevalent in conveyancing firms for as long as I can remember. Sacrifice one to achieve the other is the common perception – but should we really see these elements as mutually exclusive? According to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the UK lags behind the US and Germany by some 30 percentage points when it comes to productivity, meaning a German worker takes four days to produce what a British worker does in five.

Cyber-security has been the subject of repeated headline news over the past few years. It’s a stark warning about the enhanced threats to our IT infrastructures and the need for constant vigilance of IT usage in the workplace. Worryingly, despite its high-risk status, cyber-crime remains fairly low down law firms’ agendas. Let’s give cyber-crime the attention it deserves. After all, it really is better to be safe than sorry. To help you out, here are 10 top tips on desktop security to create a robust, reliable and secure cyber environment.

In 2005, after spending some 25 years in and around the law, I set about writing down what I had learned and valued most. What emerged as of central importance in my career and for the firm I created was relationships: with colleagues, clients and indeed anyone I dealt with in the course of practice and business. Professional, working, relationships are different to personal relationships, and perhaps a little simpler in some respects, and they deserve our deliberate attention.

I recently made my predictions for 2017, and one was that pundits and others in the legal industry would keep talking about artificial intelligence (AI) and law. Since I want to get 100% on my predictions, again, I thought I would start the New Year by ensuring I at least got this one right. So, I’ll talk about AI and law. I am going to focus on some questions that you do not hear discussed every day. They circle around an interesting question: are the emerging technologies, such as AI and smart contracts, about to make law more brittle?

We know that, for barristers, personal finance matters can often fall to the bottom of the pile, behind the focus on family and clients. We therefore offer our suggestions to get the New Year off to a good start. Investing a small amount of time in this now can save you lots more in the long term, as well as providing peace of mind and reducing the associated stress, so that you can do a better job for your clients.