The project, which is due to go live in January 2012, will see all Howells' line of business applications and Microsoft software hosted and supported by e-know.net from its class-leading UK data centre.

The outsourcing move is the major element of a new IT strategy designed to underpin the firm's growth plans. Howells' managing partner Peter Mahy explains:

"Over the past 30 years, we have established an excellent reputation for providing quality legal advice to individuals both in Yorkshire and across the UK. We're keen to build upon those solid foundations and that means embedding reliable, flexible and secure IT systems across the practice. As we unlock new demand for existing services, and bring on new services in response to demand, we need to be able to scale up efficiently in order to realize those opportunities while maintaining our quality and service standards. The switch to outsourced, managed IT gives us the ability to do that quickly, cost-effectively and without risk; while it also leaves us free to concentrate on our core business which is delivering the best possible support and advice to our clients."

Howells is one of the region's most highly regarded law firms. Its civil, crime and family teams have all built up outstanding track records over the years: Chambers, the influential guide to UK law firms, ranks Howells in the top tier for Crime and Immigration and also recognises its work in Administrative and Public Law, Civil Liberties and Human Rights, Clinical Negligence, and Police Law. In addition, the influential Legal 500 directory has Howells in the top rank for family law across the Yorkshire and Humber region.