Editor's letter: Preparing for full global economic recovery

It's the beginning of 2014 and you are expected to have new year's resolutions, not just for yourself but also for your practice. Yes you are. Not because it's good for you - research has found that people often set themselves up to fail by setting unrealistic targets for the new year - but because it's the done thing.

Tradition and peer pressure aside, it's worth reflecting at the start of the year on what you want to achieve, both personally and professionally. You may feel that you want to spend more time talking with your younger lawyers about how they would like to work in future - a recent study has found that it's quite different to the way traditional law firms operate.

Long-term firm strategy is also an important area to consider, particularly as statistics emerge indicating that the global economy is truly on its way to full recovery. When that will take place is, of course, anyone's guess. Some have said 2017/18 could be when the world will finally be out of the mess that started in 2007/08.

It's not a bad target, so we've used it as a springboard for our new year issue. The idea is that you will find the resources within these pages that you will need to get your firm ready for the recovery when it is in full swing - looking at how the global legal market will change shape by 2018; the options national firms will need to start considering if they wish to provide international services by that time; the logistics of opening an office abroad on a tight deadline; and how to build a talent pipeline and accelerate junior lawyer development so that your firm has a viable talent pool when the boom times return. And that's just a taster.

As ever, I hope you enjoy this issue and welcome any feedback that you'd like to share.

Until next time,