Top 5 tips for speedy CON29DW returns
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Drainage and Water Searches Network (DWSN), we are developing a series of webinars delving into the questions contained within a CON29DW search. Our first webinar, Top 5 tips for speedy CON29DW Returns, is now available on the DWSN YouTube Channel and below, which you can also access at […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: 10th June 2024
I was out with some conveyancing colleagues on Friday night. It is always a good opportunity to put the world to rights. One of the things that we chatted about was how we have to make time in our non-working day to do the actual conveyancing work. All of us tended to do an hour […]
Why don’t Lawyers like change?
As I write this blog, I am remembering a lovely quote from Kingsley Amis who said: “If you can’t annoy somebody with what you write, I think there’s little point in writing.” I have spent a lot of hours studying how to get people to change their behaviours and habits. Tech is only as good […]
Potential changes ahead for conveyancing firms: Bank of England’s Synchronisation Project explored
Members of the CA will have received a discussion paper in May focused on the Bank of England’s Synchronisation Project which might well have implications for the way firms currently send money for completions. The project, if successful, will mean the update to the Bank’s Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, due at the end […]
Call to scrap stamp duty for over-75s to boost downsizing and address housing crisis
Stamp duty should be eliminated for individuals over 75 to encourage downsizing and make more family homes available for younger buyers, according to Will Bax, CEO of Retirement Villages Group. England’s property transaction tax acts as a “handbrake” preventing older adults from moving when they need to free up funds for care, Bax argued. He […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: 3rd June 2024
It is funny when I sit down to write this as I have so many musings about conveyancing – no two days are ever the same; are we counsellors as well as conveyancers? would we have done this job if we knew now how it would be compared with how it was twenty or thirty […]
Outsourcing is an increasing consideration for the law firm of the future
Nicola Ashley and Nicola Davies are former conveyancers and now founders of outsourced title investigation service N Title. They join podcast host David Opie on this latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast to discuss their journey over the past 4 years, as well as exploring the opportunities outsourcing provides firms to flex up and down without adding […]
Confessions of a cyber conveyancer
I KNOW I received that document … Given the voracity of recent discussions around forms, allegations of vested interests and the inability of technology to improve conveyancing, an outsider might think that these are the key concerns amongst property lawyers right now. Whilst there is an awful lot of energy being expended on those topics, […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: 28th May 2024
I am still in awe of AI… I hear others talking about it and do not even start to understand how it works but it still scares me a little. I suppose that coming to the end of my career means that I do not have to take notice of it in the same way […]
The many hats of a compliance officer
In a discussion which will no doubt elicit cries of empathy and a collective nod from compliance teams in law firms up and down the country, Lucy Batten joins the latest Today’s Conveyancer Podcast to discuss her role as Executive Director and Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) at Gloucestershire-based Montpellier Legal. Her role encompasses […]
Creating a Leading Brand in the Legal Sector: A Strategic Guide for Law Firms and Legal Businesses
Establishing a strong brand is not just about being recognised – it’s about being preferred. This means going beyond just offering expert legal advice; it involves embedding your firm’s values into every aspect of your business, developing a coherent content strategy, leveraging personal branding, and aligning with your long-term vision. At Legal Growth, we understand […]
Artificial Intelligence: The good, the bad and the ugly
The SRA’s Annual AML Assessment found that 70% of law firms believed they were fully compliant, when they were not. This is a statistic that should shock everyone. A key challenge facing the industry is that many legal and conveyancing firms believe they have sufficient processes for AML/PEPs checks. However, if a firm’s onboarding process […]
Economic challenges and wet weather dampen house building in first quarter, reports NHBC
Figures released today by the National House Building Council (NHBC), the UK’s largest provider of new home warranties and insurance, show 21,967 new homes were registered to be built in the first quarter compared to last year. There were 26,240 new homes were completed in the same period, 13% down on Q1 2023 (30,071). Despite […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: 20th May 2024
What has happened to LinkedIn? I thought it was a nice, friendly space. Conveyancers could mention their achievements, career moves, reviews from clients and post photographs of gifts received from happy clients. But in the last few weeks, it has become nasty and full of vitriol. I always thought that conveyancers practised this area of […]
Ambition pays off for new legal sector conference
Law Firm Ambition began as a widely-used online resource dedicated to helping law firms grow. Law Firm Ambition has developed a comprehensive set of ‘How to’ guides, updated annually. These guides are created with input from over 100 carefully selected experts from the legal sector, making it a respected project within the legal community. The […]
How are law firms investing in their marketing and BD?
The Law Firm Marketing Club’s annual Professional Services Marketing Survey, now in its fourth year, continues to grow in participation, with 125 firms contributing data in 2024. As marketers, we understand the importance of robust and dependable data, and in this report, we delve into various aspects of professional services firms’ marketing and business development […]
Empathy: it’s our superpower
I have a complex relationship with online communities. For my professional network, they provide beneficial opportunities to meet likeminded colleagues from across the profession. They’re a useful place to share news, event information, best practice and break down the boundaries between business owners. Obviously, there are recruitment benefits for both employers and employees. It expands […]
The HBSG Discussion Paper: What’s going on, the need and our solution
In 2023, the Home Buying and Selling Council (HBSG) launched its first ever ‘Discussion Paper’ on how to improve the home buying and selling process now and in the future and to gather the thoughts and ideas from those at the coal face, as to what will work and what the unintended consequences might be. […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: 14th May 2024
I went to visit a friend over the weekend. He is selling his mother’s house. I arranged for him to sign the documents and it was a good opportunity to catch up. And I knew he would ask me the question which I could not answer and tried to steer the conversation away from it. […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer: 7th May 2024
I like Bank Holidays – a chance to think about the week ahead and delight in the idea of a four day week but the difficulty with a four day week for a conveyancer is that we have to squash five days into four! I applaud those firms which offer four day working weeks but […]