Conveyancing AML checks for solicitors (and why they’re so important!)
As technology disrupts the legal sector, the issue of identity verification and anti-money laundering has taken centre priority. With data breaches and hacks leaving solicitors firms vulnerable to identity fraud, regulatory agencies such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and HM Land Registry (HMLR) are taking a firm line on identity verification and money laundering […]
ICO fines and NCSC warnings…
There has been an increase in the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) activity in recent weeks which makes law firms and their clients sit up and take notice. ICO fines company £4.4m after cyber-attack and issues a stark warning: “Biggest cyber risk is complacency, not hackers.” On 24th October the ICO fined Interserve Group £4.4m for failing […]
28% nosedive in transactions forecast for 2023
New analysis has suggested conveyancers should prepare for residential property transactions to fall by a striking 28% from pre-pandemic levels during 2023. Savills’ transaction volume forecast for 2023-2027, which is based on economic forecasts from Oxford Economics, suggested transactions will bottom out at 870,000 next year – a marked decrease from the 1.2 million seen […]
Fall-throughs climb 9% in Q2 – to the tune of £250m
New research has revealed that fall-throughs were up 9% in Q2 2022 on the previous quarter, and the increasing costs involved mean the property market is a quarter of a billion pounds out of pocket. The hike in fall-through figures is the first seen since the height of the pandemic market boom, according to House […]
British Conveyancing Awards announces Charity Partner
Ahead of the Early Bird Entry deadline on 11th November, the British Conveyancing Awards has announced The Conveyancing Foundation as Charity Partner for the event which returns on 21st March 2023. The British Conveyancing Awards were launched in 2021 in recognition of the “herculean” efforts of the industry throughout the pandemic and in response to […]
Mortgage approvals tumble as downward trend takes hold
New data from the Bank of England shows mortgage approvals decreased “significantly” between August and September, falling from 74,400 to 66,800 – or a 10.2% month-on-month decrease. This is also a 7.3% drop from the 72,061 approvals seen in September of last year. With approvals being an indicator of future borrowing, it is likely that […]
Reports of AML breaches down 8%, SRA data shows
The number of reports received by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regarding potential breaches of money laundering regulations fell by 8% from 273 to 252 between the 2021/22 financial year and the year prior, new data has revealed. The data is contained within the SRA’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) annual report 2021-22. With regards to the […]
Diary of a high street conveyancer: 7th November 2022
A lovely client of mine, who moved house two weeks ago, popped into my office this week to drop in a bottle of wine to thank me for helping him to move. It had been a difficult transaction. You know the one where you have a particular firm who will only do simultaneous exchange and […]
Communication, Communication, Communication
In this Today’s Conveyancer podcast host David Opie is joined by lawyer and technology entrepreneur Vanessa Challess. As owner of Tiger Bytez and Tiger Law, Vanessa brings a practical view of the current state of conveyancing with strong words for conveyancers over current service levels and technology adoption. She also warns firms that technology will […]
Unreasonable pressure from developers: A recurring issue?
The issue of property developers applying unreasonable pressure upon conveyancers has once again risen to the fore – but just how common is this issue? “How far has this got to go before the walls come crashing down and we all end up paying through our PII premiums when the builder’s puppet conveyancers are caught […]
