Change is coming on climate risk due diligence for conveyancers
“Do solicitors have a legal duty of care to advise their clients on climate-related risks?” – this is the question that Stephen Tromans QC, one of the pre-eminent environmental law barristers in the world, will pose at The Conveyancing Climate Change Conference on 14th June in the Law Society Common Room. Hosted by Groundsure, this […]
How technology can help manage quality compliance
Compliance is a significant and continually evolving challenge faced by legal professionals. The Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) aims to minimise a firm’s risk of claims by putting compliance at the forefront and helping them to protect their reputation. In February this year, The Law Society released an update to the CQS Core Practice […]
PII – are you confident that your firm is calculating SDLT correctly?
Why wouldn’t you be? Stamp Duty Land Tax has been in place now for nearly two decades, and it’s just the same as the old Stamp Duty, isn’t it? Plus, HMRC provide a simple calculator on their website which is easy to use and the vast majority of transactions are quit straightforward and ‘normal’ meaning […]
Mental health and wellbeing in the legal industry: a podcast
Following mental health awareness week 2022, we look at how mental health and wellbeing in the legal industry continues to develop – driven by the post pandemic landscape, a candidate driven market and an impetus for change from the SRA and the industry as a whole. The following is an extract from the podcast, recorded […]
LawCare celebrates 25 years of mental health support
Mental health and wellbeing support in the legal profession would not be what it is today without LawCare, the Law Society of England and Wales said today as we celebrate the charity operating for 25 years. Commenting on the anniversary, Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce: “As one of the independent funders and a principal […]
The case for updating the Law Society’s Environmental Practice Notes due to the climate crisis
What are Practice Notes? Over the years, the Law Society of England and Wales has issued more than 100 Practice Notes to its 160,000 members. They are designed to describe good practice and, whilst we are not strictly obliged to follow them, it makes sense for us to do so. In case of complaints by […]
Property firms in the firing line over money laundering
The recent publication by HM Revenue & Customs of a long list of property firms falling foul of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations has highlighted once again the dangers of failing to comply with the rules. HMRC named more than 30 estate agents, commercial property firms, valuers and auction houses in a list of 79 firms […]
5 great reasons to get ahead of HM Land Registry’s digital AP1 deadline
From November 2022, HM Land Registry will no longer be accepting traditional scanned or PDF copies of AP1s via the HM Land Registry portal – marking the first time in history that the agency has made a digital channel mandatory. As the deadline draws ever closer, Matt Joy, Sales and Marketing Director at tmgroup, explains […]
Boris Johnson to “kindle the dream of home ownership”
Following victory in Monday night’s no-confidence vote amongst Conservative MPs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly set to announce plans over the next week that will “kindle that dream of home ownership”. Having been under intense pressure from both sides of the House of Commons, as well as large portions of the media and the […]
Homebuyers to blame for property sale fall throughs
New research has revealed that a quarter of estate agents have seen 10% or more transactions fall through over the last year, with buyers most at blame, wasting time and resources in the process. HBB Solutions surveyed agents about their experiences of selling homes within the property sector over the last year, specifically where fall […]
The conversation around menopause in the law
Nicola Green is a menopause consultant who, after over 20 years working in law, launched Nicola Green Consultancy in 2019 and now helps law firms and organisations address and support menopause in the workplace. Here, Nicola goes through the impact menopause has on women working in the law. With menopausal women being the fastest growing […]