The best IT and security setup for Bishop’s Stortford conveyancing solicitors pairs LEAP and your legal software with Microsoft 365, layered security, reliable connectivity and tested backups. Get that foundation right and the practice works smoothly while client money and data stay protected, which is exactly what conveyancing demands. Delivered as a managed service, it usually costs about £45 to £100 per user per month.
Conveyancing practices in Bishop’s Stortford and across Hertfordshire and Essex often add software and security piecemeal over the years, which quietly leaves gaps. A joined-up setup closes them. Here is what good looks like, and where we most often find weaknesses.
1. Your software, properly supported
LEAP, Oyez forms, eSigner, BigHand and your tax and payroll software all need real support to stay fast and available, alongside Microsoft 365 for email, files and collaboration. A setup built around these tools, with someone accountable for upgrades and performance, keeps your fee earners productive instead of fighting their software.
2. Layered security
Because conveyancers are targeted, security needs depth. No single control is enough, but together these make the practice a hard target and give you the evidence trail insurers and the SRA want. Working towards Cyber Essentials is a good way to confirm the basics are in place. A strong setup includes:
- Managed endpoint protection and a business firewall
- Application allowlisting, so only approved software can run
- Managed email filtering against phishing and malware
- Multi-factor authentication on every account
- Encrypted, tested backups of LEAP, files and Microsoft 365
- Regular staff awareness training and phishing tests
3. Reliable connectivity
LEAP and your cloud or hosted tools depend on a good connection. Resilient internet at each office, with a backup line where it matters, keeps the practice working through any outage, which counts double on completion days when a dropped connection can hold up money and contracts.
4. Backups you can trust
Encrypted, isolated and tested backups of your case files, LEAP data and Microsoft 365 mean a mistake or an attack never costs you client work. Being able to recover quickly, and knowing how long it takes because you have tested it, is both a security control and a continuity safeguard.
How the pieces fit together
These parts are not separate purchases bolted together; they work as one. Your software sits on managed, patched devices; those devices are protected by allowlisting and endpoint security; access is gated by multi-factor authentication; and everything is backed up and test-restored. When one layer flags something, the others contain it, which is why a joined-up setup beats the same tools bought piecemeal.
The common gaps we find
When we review a conveyancing setup, the same weak spots come up: multi-factor authentication missing on some accounts, backups that have never been test-restored, old software still running because no one owns the upgrades, and no application allowlisting, so anything can execute. Each is straightforward to fix once someone is accountable for it.
What this should cost
Delivered as a managed service, this setup usually costs £45 to £100 per user per month, depending on your size, number of offices and the depth of security and connectivity you need. The value is a practice that simply works, with client money and data protected, rather than a patchwork you have to worry about.
A real example: security doing its job
We support a conveyancing practice where the managed Sophos protection we run blocked an attempted exploit on a fee earner’s machine, stopping the attack before it could do any harm, with the user back working normally the same morning. That is what a joined-up, layered setup looks like in practice.
Where to start if you are not sure
If you are not sure where your practice stands, begin with a short review: confirm multi-factor authentication is on everywhere, test-restore a backup, check that LEAP and your other software have someone accountable for them, and turn on application allowlisting. Those few steps remove most of the risk quickly and show where a joined-up, managed setup pays off, before a completion-day problem forces the issue.
Why conveyancing solicitors choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including conveyancing solicitors and high-street practices, and we know the software you run every day: LEAP, Oyez forms, eSigner, BigHand, Sage Payroll, PTP and Xero, alongside Microsoft 365. We support conveyancing solicitors in Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford, Sawbridgeworth, London and across Essex and Hertfordshire. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we have been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Want a joined-up, secure setup for your practice? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT and we will design it with you.