Understanding the risks of using AI – and how an AI policy can help protect law firms
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers incredible potential for the legal sector. So much so, it’s already becoming part of daily practice. But as adoption grows, so too do the risks. Without clear oversight, AI can expose law firms to serious legal, ethical and regulatory issues. As such, an AI policy isn’t just a box-ticking exercise – […]
New LSAG guidance: Practical updates for AML compliance
The Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG) has rolled out its updated anti-money laundering guidance, which has been approved by HM Treasury and took effect on 23 April 2025. This isn’t just another regulatory refresh; it’s a call for law firms and lawyers to rethink how we identify and manage risks that can lurk for years […]
The climate change practice note and protecting ourselves from ‘conveyancing creep’
While the Law Society’s updated practice note on climate change this week is a useful reminder of how broader environmental issues are beginning to intersect with our requirements of acting on a residential property, it’s important that we remain clear about the scope of our professional responsibilities. We need to look after ourselves, our firms, […]
SDLT knowledge check: Are you getting it right?
The many rules, reliefs and exemptions related to SDLT can be complicated, but mistakes can prove costly. Here are some useful FAQs brought together from our experience of common queries we see from conveyancers. First time buyers relief (FTBR) A purchaser inherited a share in a property but never lived in it – will FTBR […]
What does the Climate Change Practice Note mean for conveyancers?
Following the publication of The Law Society Climate Change Risk Property Practice Note Today’s Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie speaks to former Groundsure CEO and now consultant to the market Dan Montagnani about what the Practice Note does, and critically, doesn’t include and what action property lawyers might take as a result. Building on the […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – The benefit of picking up the phone
As conveyancing appears to become more adversarial with never ending queries and some abrupt emails from time to time, it is interesting when I speak with other conveyancers to find out that actually we are all quite a nice bunch! That one conveyancer who has been quite stroppy and does not like the replies to […]
Spring clean AML controls to ensure compliance with 2025 guidance
We all know that conveyancing is a known high-risk area for money laundering – criminals exploit property transactions, especially high-value or opaque deals, to wash illicit funds into the legitimate economy. Recent analysis underscores the urgency: the UK remains vulnerable to money laundering, particularly from illicit proceeds generated overseas. The National Crime Agency notes that […]
Understanding the different stages on the journey towards leasehold reform
The story we are told is that leasehold is a broken system being fixed in orderly stages, leading to a better model of ownership. That sounds good, but it just isn’t what’s happening. What we are actually seeing is a series of disconnected policy pushes — some seemingly driven more by political pressure than long-term […]
Will leasehold reform scupper the growth agenda?
In March, the government published a Commonhold White Paper: the first stage in its fulfilment of a manifesto promise to abolish leasehold. The ministerial foreword to the white paper states that ‘The government is determined to ensure that commonhold becomes the default tenure… commonhold is not merely an alternative to leasehold ownership, but a radical […]
Property trends report Q1 2025
In the regular quarterly update looking at the latest statistics from Landmark, Today’s Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie is joined by Ben Robinson and Rob Gurney of Landmark to pore over the latest Property Trends report covering the first quarter of 2025. Given the changes to stamp duty thresholds on 1st April 2025 there is […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – Leave a message after the beep…
What a week! The thing is – us conveyancers could say that every week! But what I think we need to see is that conveyancing is not really a nine to five job anymore. I am sitting at my desk on a sunny Sunday morning and my work mobile has just rung. My first thought […]
Why training Gen Z in conversation is crucial for the future of conveyancing
A new generation of case managers is entering the legal profession, bringing with them a fresh mindset and a digital-first approach to communication. Generation Z professionals – raised in a world of smartphones, messaging apps, and emojis – tend to favour emails and instant messages over face-to-face meetings or even phone calls. But while these […]
£50 billion in 20 years – with only 27p missing
Having celebrated a landmark achievement of 20 years in the conveyancing business, Newport-based Convey Law reflects on transacting £50bn in home moves with head of finance and administration Abby Bater. Abby shares her thoughts on the trials and tribulations of keeping clients and teams safe in today’s fraught conveyancing world, and managing the finances of […]
Build strong communities to enhance wellbeing in legal practice
The legal sector is being encouraged to focus on mental health and wellbeing this month, with this week marking Wellbeing Week in Law, and Mental Health Awareness Week beginning on the 12th May. Awareness weeks offer a prompt to pause and reflect on the issue at hand, and when it comes to our health there’s […]
Stamp duty and the impact on the property market
I’ve worked in the property industry for 14 years and have seen many changes in the world of residential conveyancing. Most recently we had the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the stamp duty holiday that followed, the changes in interest rates and now the changes to the stamp duty thresholds. The impact of the latter […]
Annual pre-contract enquiries survey – Please take 2 minutes to have your say
Over the last three years Today’s Conveyancer has undertaken a readership survey of attitudes toward pre-contract enquiries. With a similar line of questioning each year, the survey asks readers to share their thoughts and attitudes toward pre-contract enquiries over the past 12 months. Last year the majority of respondents reported little or no change from […]
Defining workplace culture and its impact on leaders and employees
The latest Today’s Conveyancer Podcast welcomes workplace culture and staff retention specialist Andre Thomas of Thomas Telman to discuss the critical importance of cultivating a positive workplace culture and the direct impact this has on staff retention and overall business success. The firm has created a empirical methodology by which culture can be measured through […]
Good Business Management is Good Risk Management
In this article covering the launch event in the Today’s Training Risk Management series, we summarise the panellists’ views on the risk and regulatory landscape currently facing the legal services profession. The audience for the well-attended webinar heard from specialists in law firm regulation, insurance and management. Some questions prompted disagreement amongst the panel, most […]
Pressure makes diamonds but it can also crack glass – why proactive AML compliance is non-negotiable for conveyancers right now
You’ve probably heard the saying “pressure makes diamonds” and if you’re working in residential or commercial property, you’re likely under more pressure than most. Tight deadlines, complex chains, and relentless client expectations come with the territory. You’ve been through the Stamp Duty headache already this year, so we know you’re recovering from that pressure, but […]
How long does conveyancing actually take?
In the latest episode of the Today’s Conveyancer podcast, host David Opie welcomes Rob Gurney, Managing Director of Ochresoft to discuss how long conveyancing actually takes; and why lower the lower transaction volumes of the last couple of years haven’t seen corresponding falls in completion times. A new report from Landmark which interrogates the data […]
