Conveyancers are under pressure. The post-recession revival in the property market has meant a boom in activity in the last few years, dampened only slightly in the past few months as a result of the referendum on EU membership. This is good news for the property industry, for anyone looking to move up the ladder or downsize, and for the economy as a whole – long may it continue and let us hope 2017 sees some post-referendum gusto return to the property market. However, what is much less widely known within the conveyancing industry – though many firms will recognise the effects – is that this extra workload is actually being delivered by fewer individuals.

With cyber-crime making the headlines more and more frequently, it is becoming increasingly important that law firms of all sizes understand how to handle such a situation professionally and keep their reputation intact. Here are some steps any law firm can take to help ensure that a cyber-attack or data breach doesn’t cost them their client base.

What are our considerations when looking to buy home or car cover? I would imagine price would certainly be amongst the considerations, but I’m confident that we would each weigh up whether or not our chosen insurer could meet any claims we might bring, and perhaps as importantly, whether they’d provide us with a hassle-free claims process were the worst to happen. Legal expenses insurance should be no different.

Had Isambard Kingdom Brunel been a lawyer and not an engineer, suspension bridges might have remained the domain of orthodontists and we might still be rowing wooden boats to the Balearics for our summer holidays. As it turned out, his engineering genius helped shape the Industrial Revolution and put the Great into Great Britain – in much the same way my colleagues say I put the bone into bone idle. There is much evidence to suggest that the legal sector is now at the forefront of the Professional Revolution.

With all residential and commercial property transactions, limiting clients’ exposure to contractual or other legal risks relating to the purchase is a key goal. This includes the consideration of any possible environmental risks or damage relating to the property or site, such that they can be managed appropriately both at point of transaction and in future, in order to maximise the value of the investment. From a solicitor’s standpoint, analysis of this nature is vital in order to demonstrate that full and thorough due diligence has taken place.