The Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, has today (6th May 2021) announced the appointment of a new Non-Executive Chair. Nicky Heathcote, who has over 30 years’ experience in the

Findings showcase a whopping 123% uplift in house purchases

Equity Release Supermarket (ERS), the UK’s No.1 independent equity release advisory service, reflect on Q1 findings, along with shifts in equity release usage and behaviour. Data released by the digital pioneers revealed a shift in

Survey provides insight into early impact of pandemic on medium-size law firms

In its 20th year, the Law Management Section’s Financial Benchmarking report provides a vital insight into how medium-sized law firms have been hit by the unprecedented conditions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic with profits

Billing in advance – A tricky path to take

As part of our ‘Technical Corner’ we want to bring you information that will help you to continue to learn and grow in your career. This month’s technical corner article comes from Robert Blech LLB,

Property Lawyers Convey Law working with the Government to prevent crime

Property Lawyers Convey Law can now check information provided by clients against information held by the government to help verify someone’s identity at the start of a property transaction. This is the first such integration

Brokers visiting up to six lender affordability calculators per case

More than eight out of ten brokers use the affordability calculators of up to six lenders when sourcing a single case, new research from mortgage technology expert Mortgage Brain has revealed. Attendees of Mortgage Brain’s

74% of legal professionals struggle to complete essential legal learning

Almost three quarters of legal professionals are struggling to find the time to complete essential learning and training because of heavy workloads. New research from legal software specialist Access Legal has highlighted the challenges law

Why a Digital ID Standard is a welcome step for conveyancers

Following on from our chat with Mike Harlow from HM Land Registry about Safe Harbour being a positive catalyst for change, Alastair Johnson is Founder and CEO of Nuggets, a blockchain ecommerce payments and ID

Help to Build will be a huge boost for self build sector, says BuildLoan

BuildLoan welcomes the Government’s announcement on the Help to Build scheme as it offers wider opportunities for people to build or customise their own home. The new scheme also brings new opportunities for brokers to

Equity Release Council members vote for stability and expansion in Board elections

Members of the Equity Release Council (the Council) have voted for stability and expansion by reappointing three directors to its Main Board and widening its Standards Board membership at its 2021 Annual General Meeting. Will

Legal industry workforce evolving to meet demand for ‘work anywhere, handle everything’ staffq

The nature of work in the legal industry is changing rapidly, according to new research from specialist recruiter Robert Half and global labour market trends experts Burning Glass. Law firms are simultaneously embracing remote working,

Be Kind We Care Stress Management Webinar

The Be Kind We Care initiative will host its first free webinar on Wednesday 28th April 1pm-2pm. April is Stress Awareness Month and the session will focus on stress management, with guest speakers providing practical

Poor air quality is arguably the most significant environmental risk to the health of our nation, with some 40,000 deaths per annum attributable to pollution from motor vehicles and industry. This has been brought into

While the UK’s succession of lockdowns brought the shutters crashing down on many sectors, the residential property market remained very much open for business throughout the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Indeed, as a result

A fraudster has secured hundreds of thousands of pounds of illegal funds by cloning the identity of an unsuspecting homeowner and obtaining credit against their identity. Posing as the homeowner of a property for sale,

‘Lack of speed’ ranked as the biggest problem in the property transaction

A survey conducted by OneDome has revealed that the lack of transaction speed is the biggest problem facing estate agents today. In a recent survey issued to over 5,000 UK-based agents, respondents were asked to

Economic Climate

Jo Hodges, Sales and Marketing Director at Redbrick Solutions shares her thoughts with Today’s Conveyancer about the current economic climate and the impact on the conveyancing sector. The continued roll out of the COVID-19 vaccines

Conveyancers urge industry to manage client expectations over SDLT

Conveyancing firms are encouraging the industry to set homemover expectations accordingly when it comes to the extension of the SDLT holiday. Speaking to a number of readers Today’s Conveyancer understands many estate agents are advising

The evolving requirements of a law firm's website

Digital Marketing expert, Sam Borrett, director of Legmark, the specialist legal marketing agency, addresses why a website is more important than ever. Many potential clients start their search for a law firm online and a

Caring for an industry under pressure

Written by Scott Bozinis, CEO, InfoTrack UK Over the past few weeks, new buyers have been entering the market, eager to complete on a sale before the new deadline passes. While this is something that

Electric vehicle parking should be considered in conveyancing

Law firm Coffin Mew is urging conveyancers to consider the provision of electric vehicle parking and charging as part of the conveyancing process. The lawyers warn that with the sale of new petrol and diesel

Purchases, Packs and Protocol Forms!

Following on from the announcement that the Law Society were piloting upfront information for buyers, and a further piece of work between the Society and Gazeal, Lorraine Richardson, Managing Director of Adapt Law has shared

Law Society launches TA6 Part 1 pilot

A new pilot from the Law Society will encourage the production of key information for home buyers and sellers at a much earlier stage in the home moving process. it is being run by the

The Home Buying & Selling Group (HBSG), charged with improving the home purchase process for consumers, has today (15th March 2021) announced it has produced a dataset for its Buying and Selling Property Information (BASPI).

Whilst last week’s announcement regarding the extension of the SDLT holiday was welcomed by many, the news was not universally applauded. Countless conveyancing firms have been stretched to their limits over recent months and were

PII: the impact of the pandemic

Legal Eye MD Paul Saunders talks to Howdens Executive Director Martin Ellis and Divisional Director Colin Taylor about the impact of the pandemic on Professional Indemnity Insurance for law firms. As firms prepare for renewal

The Be Kind We Care initiative has been launched by the Conveyancing Foundation to promote kindness and wellbeing within the property industry. With the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the pressure cooker environment that

Covid has changed criminal behaviour

Jo Hodges, Sales and Marketing Director at Redbrick Solutions shares her thoughts with Today’s Conveyancer about the way the coronavirus pandemic has changed criminal behaviour. It is estimated that organised crime costs the UK economy

The Solicitors Accounts Rules 1 year on

As part of our newly created ‘Technical Corner’ we want to bring you information that will help you to continue to grow in your career. This month’s technical corner article comes from Robert Blech LLB,

Three leading conveyancing membership bodies have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak imploring the government to consider an “alternative” end to the SDLT holiday. Rob Hailstone, CEO of the Bold Legal Group (BLG), Mike Ockenden, Head

Estate Agency – The times they are a changing

Michael S Day MBA FRICS FNAEA FARLA, Managing Director Integra Property Services, Director teclet and Founder Member Agents Together, has shared with us his thoughts on the recent reports that estate agency branches are declining.

Public invited to contribute to draft rules around data protection, security and inclusivity Part of work to help people prove who they are without the need for physical documents Aim is to make people’s lives easier and boost the country’s £149 billion digital economy The government has today published its draft rules of the road for governing the future use of digital identities. It is part of plans to make it quicker and easier for people to verify themselves using modern technology and create a process as trusted as using passports or bank statements. Digital identity products allow people to prove who they are, where they live or how old they are. They are set to revolutionise transactions such as buying a house, when people are often required to prove their identity multiple times to a bank, conveyancer or estate agent, and buying age-restricted goods online or in person. The new ‘trust framework’ lays out the draft rules of the road organisations should follow. It includes the principles, policies, procedures and standards governing the use of digital identity to allow for the sharing of information to check people’s identities or personal details, such as a user’s address or age, in a trusted and consistent way. This will enable interoperability and increase public confidence. The framework, once finalised, is expected to be brought into law. It has specific standards and requirements for organisations which provide or use digital identity services including: Having a data management policy which explains how they create, obtain, disclose, protect, and delete data; Following industry standards and best practice for information security and encryption; Telling the user if any changes, for example an update to their address, have been made to their digital identity; Where appropriate, having a detailed account recovery process and notifying users if organisations suspect someone has fraudulently accessed their account or used their digital identity; Following guidance on how to choose secure authenticators for their service. Organisations will be required to publish a yearly report explaining which demographics have been, or are likely to have been, excluded from their service and why. The move will help make firms aware if there are inclusivity problems in their products while also boosting transparency. The framework will also help promote the use of ‘vouching’, where trusted people within the community such as doctors or teachers ‘vouch for’ or confirm a person’s identity, as a useful alternative for those without traditional documents, such as passports and driving licences. Digital Infrastructure Minister Matt Warman said: Establishing trust online is absolutely essential if we are to unleash the future potential of our digital economy. Today we are publishing draft rules of the road to guide organisations using new digital identity technology and we want industry, civil society groups and the public to make their voices heard. Our aim is to help people confidently verify themselves while safeguarding their privacy so we can build back better and fairer from the pandemic.

The Times newspaper has this evening reported that Chancellor Rishi Sunak plans to announce a 3 month extension to the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday in the Budget on 3rd March Currently due to finish

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