One of the things nobody tells you about computer systems when you buy them - and which you have to learn for yourself the hard way - is that no matter how good or new the hardware and software may be, they sometimes go wrong.

And it always seems to be at 4.30pm on a busy Friday afternoon, when you are trying to clear the decks before the weekend.

It is not that there is anything inherently defective with the equipment you are using but just that sometimes the combination of applications and programmes you are running cause the system to crash.

Typically, this takes the form of the screen 'freezing' and then the only thing you can do is switch the PC off and start all over again.

To avoid any disasters with technology, what even the busiest, most techno-phobic solicitor must do, if he is going to be working with computers on a regular basis, is invest in some general IT skills training.

Clearly time is money, and many firms now have secretaries and IT support staff to look after these problems, so I am not suggesting that you hone your IT skills to the point where you become what is known in the trade as a 'power user'.

But, on the basis that prevention is better than cure, everyone should develop a level of familiarity - or a 'comfort zone' - with their use of technology.

For example, if you develop the habit of regularly saving the documents you are working on (and a lot of people still omit this basic precaution), then if the system does crash, you will only lose a couple of minutes' work rather than a few hours' worth.

Similarly, even if you do have an in-house IT expert or a friendly legal software supplier, it is still a better use of your time to know how to restart your own computer rather than having to wait for someone else to sort out the problem for you, particularly when the solution in many instances involves just flicking a switch.

It may not be much consolation at the time when they go wrong, but what you have to bear in mind is that computers are such complex devices that instead of being surprised when sometimes they do not work, we should actually be amazed they ever work at all.

Or, to put it another way, it is not a case of 'if' they go wrong but 'when' they go wrong - so you need to be in a position to minimise the impact.

Charles Christian is an independent adviser to the Law Society's Software Solutions guide