Legal Week has just launched the 2014 version of its annual law firm information technology survey.

It is designed for use by lawyers in all UK law firms, and only takes 10 minutes to complete. It covers the use of, and users' views on, a variety of enabling office and mobile hardware and software.

Mobility is obviously a key current issue – as many enthusiastic legal iPad users are just beginning to realise that Apple Tablets are great for short emails and getting information out, but not fantastic for getting information in. Even with the advances in Microsoft Office Apps for iPad, trying to edit an Office-formatted Word document on an iPad is generally a fast way to corrupt its formatting comprehensively.

It has long been said that 'all comparisons are invidious'; that may be true, but they are also invaluable – and irresistible. Law firms spend a lot of money on their technology, and many partners simply do not understand where the money goes, and wonder if they are getting value for their investment.

Peer review is one way to give them satisfaction, and also provide the IT team with a way of determining how effective they are in doing their jobs. By the by, it is also a very useful tool for the IT director/CIO to aid in discussions with their firm about the appropriate level of investment that needs to be made in IT.

The Legal Week survey is the most detailed and comprehensive user-based law firm IT survey – it provides a unique perspective on how lawyers at the coalface feel about how their firm's technology meets their needs, and assists them in delivering high quality and consistent legal services to clients.

In this market, that is invaluable.

Neil Cameron, managing director of Neil Cameron Consulting Group, has been involved with legal IT for over 30 years, advising law firms on strategic and tactical IT issues since 1986. Click here to visit Neil's blog and click here to follow Neil on Twitter.