You’ve set up your new website, invested in getting to number one in Google, implemented other online and offline marketing activities to support your business objectives and then, wait for it… The phone rings. Great! A new client, right? Easy! Sadly, for too many firms, this isn’t the case. In an increasingly competitive market place, law firms invest enormous amounts in marketing and lead-generation activities. They invest yet more in getting the very best lawyers they can to carry out the work. Yet most firms pay little heed to one of the most important parts of the process: converting enquiries into paying clients.

The requirement for solicitors to behave ethically in modern legal practice is more relevant than ever. Solicitors are still held in fairly high regard by the public, although that esteem is on the wane according to last year’s Trusted Professions poll by Ipsos Mori. Lawyers are less trusted than teachers and doctors but at least we prevail over accountants and bankers. We still hold a position of trust but we must work to hold that position. The current Solicitors Regulation Authority proposals to revise the Handbook are evidence that work still needs to be done.

Are any or all these items among your law firm’s primary business objectives for the months ahead? Increasing your turnover; enhancing your brand; improving your efficiency; and future proofing your firm. If your online presence isn’t directly contributing to your law firm’s success, then you are missing out on an opportunity that your competitors will be readying themselves to take advantage of. During this time of unprecedented change in the legal sector, you need to be more visible, instantly appealing, and shouting from the roof tops about how you offer a different, better, service than your competition.

Law firms hold a wealth of sensitive information, all of which will be subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will apply in the UK from 25 May 2018. Specifically, article 5 of the GDPR requires that personal data shall be “processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures”. This blog highlights five risk areas for law firms when it comes to ensuring that IT systems are secure enough to meet your firm’s obligations under article 5.

The past year of the uncertain and unknown has led to a property market that is flat-lining. The Prime Minister’s pitch to the electorate is “strong and stable” leadership during a period of Brexit negotiations. But the present reality is a stagnant but stable market. And the election, at least in the short term, is adding to the uncertainty. Could the result mean a time of opportunity and growth is just around the corner? Or just another bump in the long-term trend? What could the election mean for the property market?