As the rush to adopt AI solutions in the legal sector gathers pace, Ben Mills, commercial director at legal tech company Minerva, explains why the customer experience should lead the way when it comes to deciding the tools to deploy.
Digital conveyancing has been a fixture of the legal sector for well over a decade. Yet for many firms, the day-to-day reality still includes email chains, static PDFs, duplicated data entry, and onboarding processes that rely heavily on manual intervention.
Even where firms have invested in digital tools, underlying processes have not always evolved. But digital conveyancing is not about adding more technology. It is about redesigning the conveyancing journey as a connected, intelligent process.
Developments – including digital Law Society forms, increasing compliance demands, and rising client expectations – mean incremental change is no longer enough.
The problem with ‘almost digital’
Most firms have taken steps towards digitalisation: client portals have been introduced, forms are sent electronically and ID checks may be completed online.
On paper, the process appears more modern. In reality, these changes often introduce new inefficiencies. Static PDFs still require manual completion and review, information provided by clients is often re-keyed into case management systems, and email remains the default for follow-ups.
The impact is felt across the team. Fee earners are pulled into chasing missing information instead of progressing transactions, while support teams are left piecing together data from multiple sources.
The hidden cost of this ‘almost digital’ approach is risk. Incomplete data, compliance gaps, and inconsistent records create exposure that often goes unnoticed until it becomes a problem, while delays are harder to identify and resolve, ultimately leading to a diminished client experience.
What digital conveyancing should actually look like today
True digital conveyancing is defined not by tools, but by how the process connects. At its core is a structured, end-to-end journey that begins at instruction and flows effortlessly through onboarding, compliance, data capture, and case progression.
Rather than asking clients to complete forms in isolation, modern digital processes guide them through structured data capture. Information is entered once, validated in real time, and reused throughout the transaction. Digital versions of forms such as TA6 and TA7 are not replicas of paper documents, but dynamic workflows that reduce ambiguity and improve accuracy.
For law firms, this creates a single, consistent dataset, with less need for manual checking, fewer follow-ups, and greater confidence in the information being relied upon.
Crucially, this approach does not require firms to replace their existing case management systems. Instead, data flows into core systems in a structured way, allowing teams to focus on progressing matters rather than managing process friction.
The role of AI – applied sensibly
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now firmly part of the conversation around legal technology. However, in conveyancing, its value lies in practical, embedded use, not experimental applications.
When applied effectively, intelligent validation can flag incomplete, incorrect, or inconsistent information before it enters the system, and automation can reduce repetitive administrative tasks, allowing teams to focus on higher-value work.
Importantly, this is not about replacing professional judgement. Conveyancing remains a process that depends on legal expertise, oversight, and decision-making. AI should support these functions, not attempt to replicate them.
The distinction is critical. Firms are understandably cautious about adopting technology that introduces new risks or lacks transparency. AI-enabled solutions need to be secure, explainable, and grounded in real workflows, not experimental overlays that add complexity.
Used in this way, AI becomes an enabler of better outcomes, rather than a source of uncertainty.
Client experience as a commercial differentiator
When it comes to conveyancing, clients want to understand what is happening, what is required of them, and how their transaction is progressing. Traditional processes built around manual updates struggle to meet these expectations.
Recent insight from the Legal Ombudsman highlights that communication, delays, and unclear expectations remain the leading drivers of complaints in residential conveyancing, particularly during onboarding, ‘no news’ periods, and completion. In many cases, dissatisfaction arises not because something has gone wrong, but because clients do not understand why progress has paused. That reflects badly on not just conveyancing teams, but the wider firm.
A connected digital journey changes this dynamic.
Clients can provide information through guided workflows, rather than navigating complex forms. Progress is more transparent. Communication is more structured, with clear prompts and updates built in (including when there is nothing substantive to report). The overall experience feels faster, clearer, and more controlled.
From a commercial perspective, this matters. A smoother conveyancing experience builds trust at a critical point in the client relationship. It increases the likelihood of repeat instruction and referral. It also reduces the volume of inbound queries, freeing up internal resource.
In a high-volume environment, small improvements in experience can have a significant cumulative impact.
Looking ahead: from conveyancing to firm-wide transformation
The combination of high transaction volumes, process complexity, and client interaction makes conveyancing an ideal starting point for digital transformation. The implications, however, extend beyond property work.
A connected, data-driven onboarding process creates a foundation that can be applied across other practice areas. With the principles – structured data capture, integrated compliance, seamless client interaction – relevant across the firm.
Firms that successfully implement digital conveyancing as a connected process are therefore not just improving one department. They are building capabilities that support wider growth, consistency, and resilience.
A shift in mindset
The challenge facing conveyancing teams is not a lack of tools. It is a lack of connection between them. Until that is addressed, inefficiencies will continue to reappear in different forms, whether through duplicated data, delayed communication, or inconsistent client experiences.
The firms that move ahead will be those that treat digital conveyancing not as an upgrade, but as a connected process, one that brings together onboarding, compliance, data capture and case progression into a single, structured journey.
Because ultimately, the advantage lies not in being digital, but in being joined up.
About the author
Ben Mills is the commercial director at Minerva. He has been working in the legal technology industry for over 25 years, having spent almost 15 years at a globally successful software company helping develop products and strategies to help the business grow. Joining the team at Law Firm Services in 2019, his role is to help promote and grow Minerva’s client base across the UK and develop its partnerships. Minerva is now a market leading client onboarding solution used by many mid-tier law firms, helping them win new clients faster whilst providing excellent customer service.
