Conveyancing firms that treat client experience as a “strategic priority” will grow in the upcoming financial year, a new report suggests.
As larger conveyancing firms extend their lead of completed HM Land Registry (HMLR) applications annually and overall numbers of active conveyancer firms fall, a look into the conveyancing market showed that firms that prioritised customer satisfaction thrived most.
The fifth annual State of the UK Conveyancing Market report from legal software provider Access Legal highlighted the ways in which conveyancing firms will succeed in the coming financial year, pulling data from multiple sources.
Based on the major changes the sector has seen this year, the report found that the number of solicitors in conveyancing had fallen to 10,724, while growing firms like Taylor Rose Law continue to extend their lead with the firm retaining its number one spot having submitted 33,395 HMLR applications over a 15-month period.
While the importance of technology and AI were factors in increasing the speed of the conveyancing service to clients, the report noted that firms that “combine national reach with operational efficiency, technology investment, and a client experience that genuinely differentiates” will thrive in the future.
The report said: “The market will not deliver easy volume growth, but it will reward the firms that are best prepared to capture what is available and best placed to retain the clients they win.”
Analysis of more than 1,000 Trustpilot reviews over three years showed that firms that treat client experience as a “strategic priority” thrive most, the report stated.
Meanwhile the Legal Ombudsman found evidence of poor service in 78% of residential conveyancing cases, with communication and delays remaining a top issue.
The report findings reinforced the importance of “setting clear expectations” for clients and providing regular updates while explaining decisions in non-legal speak to clients.
Key takeaways included that clients wish to be kept informed, for solicitors to be available and responsive to them and for solicitors to be transparent during the process.
Another element clients pushed for, the report noted, is to have access to their cases “on their terms”.
Danielle Park, product manager at inCase said the gap between firms using a client portal and those still relying on phone calls and email chains for communication is “widening every year”.
She said: “In 2022, a client portal was a differentiator. In 2026, clients increasingly expect that level of accessibility and transparency as standard. The question for firms that do not yet offer it is not whether to change, but how much longer they can afford not to.”
In 2022, firms that invested in client portals and proactive communication stood out above the rest and by 2024, those same features had become the baseline clients expected to find.
However, in 2026, the question is no longer whether a firm offers a good client experience. It is whether the experience is good enough to be remembered and recommended, the report suggested.
Other areas of emphasis lay on the importance of compliance in the upcoming year, the report told, following the live MLR 2026 amendments, the mandatory TA6 6th edition and the FCA supervision taking over from the SRA in the near future.
Top conveyancing firm Taylor Rose Law was caught out for compliance failures recently back in April, having been fined more than £160,000 by The SRA.
The transition of the FCA replacing the SRA as the single professional services AML/CTF supervisor is expected to bring a “more centralised and potentially more rigorous supervisory approach”, as FCA expectations differ from the SRA’s current model, particularly around scrutiny.
Regulatory director at Access Legal Brian Rogers said that compliance “cannot be treated as someone else’s job or reviewed once a year and filed away”.
He added: “Every owner and manager in this profession needs to treat it as a standing item, not a periodic one.
“The firms that get that right will be better placed to compete. The ones that do not are carrying a risk they may not fully appreciate yet.”
One Response
Y’all realise that when you only get your clients through the front door of their new home mid-late afternoon, you’ve wrecked it?
You’re not getting recommended if you have ruined their enjoyment of moving day.
When you’re client may have 4-5 hours of moving in. Followed by 1-2 hours of getting straight enough to sleep.
You getting them keys gone 15:00, and often gone 16:00 just results in them never recommending you again. You realise that?