Conveyancing search supermarket ETSOS has announced that it is now partnering with Lawyer Checker, an online service developed to reduce uncertainty in identifying the legitimacy of the vendor conveyancer.
Lawyer Checker has been integrated into the ETSOS ordering platform, enabling users to gather information on the conveyancer to whom they are sending money and so better assess the risk associated with the transaction.
The peril to lawyers and their clients posed by sophisticated criminal gangs who set up bogus law firms was the lead story on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box on Saturday 20th April. Lawyer Checker’s Chris Harris was a guest on the programme and explained how Lawyer Checker can help legitimate law firms overcome the deficiencies of the information about law firms held by the SRA.
After listening to the programme, ETSOS’s managing director Phil Natusch comments: “Our philosophy has always been about making the lives of conveyancers easier; given the increasing demands for greater efficiencies and tighter compliance, and the potential professional negligence issues highlighted by the Money Box story, introducing one-click access to Lawyer Checker is a must so our clients can stay ahead of the game and ensure that their client money is safe.”
Chris Harris is pleased that more protection will now be available to a large number of law firms. “Unfortunately vendor conveyancing fraud is a growing issue and many firms still fail to appreciate how sophisticated these scams are and how widespread the issue is. The partnership with ETSOS will mean their users will have access to meaningful due diligence in respect of law firms on the other side of conveyancing transactions”
