Conveyancing beyond the office: What it takes to go remote
The Covid-19 pandemic made remote working the norm, but while lockdowns may be a distant memory, many conveyancers still prefer to work from home. Warren Martin, director of operations at Movera, explains how the high-volume conveyancing company instils a sense of culture and belonging in its remote workforce, while ensuring a wide talent pool from […]
Strategic adoption of AI is a question of ‘how’ not ‘if’ for law firm leaders
Research repeatedly points to the adoption of AI in the legal sector as no longer being an optional extra, but a strategic priority. Today’s Conveyancer editor Juliet Shaw takes a look at the latest reports and what they mean for law firm leaders. Leadership responses to the rapid development of AI in the legal […]
SRA must ‘regain the trust’ of the profession and get back to the basics of regulation says new CEO
New Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) chief executive Sarah Rapson says the organisation needs to “regain the trust of solicitors, law firms and the wider public”. In a statement published on the SRA website, Rapson said the message is clear from the profession that the regulator is not getting the “basics of good regulation right” and […]
Tax adviser status: What do conveyancers need to know?
What do conveyancers need to know about the pending requirements for those “interacting” with HMRC to register as tax advisers? To take a deep dive into the issue the Today’s Conveyancer Podcast welcomes Ian Quayle, CEO of IQ Legal Training, and Ryan Hannah, Managing Director of Compass. With the registration window opening imminently and clarity […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – Excuses, excuses
I’m not sure if it’s the current economic climate, with increased costs of living and wider world events, but I had a number of chains fall through this week. It set me thinking about the reasons clients give for not proceeding with the sale or purchase of a property. All of that emotional investment and expense, […]
We tested AI on 43 conveyancing scenarios. The results surprised us.
Moverly has added two new open-source AI skills to its conveyancing toolkit – a title defect analyser that reads Land Registry PDFs and a restrictive covenant advisor – and built a free online demo so you can see for yourself. Ed Molyneux on what worked, what did not, and what the profession should build next. […]
Profile: Nathalie Harris, legal assistant at Dutton Gregory LLP
Nathalie Harris is a legal assistant at the start of her legal career. Throughout the past three years, her growing legal expertise combined with her CILEX studies have positioned her as an emerging talent in property law. Her passion for excellent client service and team success is shown through her academic ambitions and dedication. What […]
Is the telephone dying in conveyancing – and does it matter?
Julie Williams, head of delivery at Complete ASAP, asks whether the telephone is becoming obsolete and whether emails will ever completely replace the personal touch of a conversation in real time. Our industry is built on precision and process, and because of that, communication has always been central to conveyancing. However, at ASAP’s recent […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – This not so glamorous life
As I have often said, the life of a conveyancer is hard. It’s not a particularly well paid role, it’s not glamorous and we don’t hang around at court looking cool, heading off to the pub after a day on our feet arguing for our client and mixing with judges and the like. It’s rare […]
From paper to platform: Evaluating digital conveyancing in the UK
Dr Saidunnabi Piyal, senior lecturer in law at the University of Wolverhampton, offers an academic’s view of the conveyancing journey from paper-based systems to digital platforms. Electronic conveyancing refers to the use of digital systems to manage, exchange and process information and documentation involved in property transactions. By replacing traditional paper-based methods with secure […]
Which lender will actually lend on your client’s property?
In the latest article in his series on AI in conveyancing, Ed Molyneux puts a practical example in front of the profession and invites them to test it themselves. I have spent the past month writing about what AI can and cannot do for conveyancers. Provenance. The judgment line. The difference between intelligence work and […]
Profile: Victoria Pollington, legal director and team leader, Birketts
With over 20 years’ residential property experience, Victoria Pollington leads Birketts’ Norwich Residential Real Estate Team and the department’s Lifetime Lending/Equity Release sector. She advises a range of clients, both individual and company, on the full spectrum of residential property transactions including complex and high value matters. Victoria is experienced in drafting complex documents such as […]
Diary of a High Street Conveyancer – When a slap on the wrist is a slap in the face
I am proud to be a solicitor. I am regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and I have never thought about moving over to regulation by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. However, from what I have read this week, it seems to do so would make my life easier. I have written before about all […]
Confessions of a cyber conveyancer – ‘The answer is marginal gains – Dave said so’
When it comes to implementing AI in the residential transaction process, there’s no need to re-invent the wheel, Cyber Conveyancer Peter Ambrose explains. Taking small steps to improve what already works will eventually result in a giant technology leap for conveyancing. It’s a good job ChatGPT wasn’t around in 1969, otherwise when Neil Armstrong […]
Why conveyancing needs a shared system of record
Residential property transactions still run on fragmented documents, duplicated updates and too many competing versions of the truth. The next step forward is not just better workflow, but a trusted shared data foundation that can support clearer collaboration, better judgement and more useful AI. Conveyancing has a truth problem. Not because people are careless or […]
Profile: Rob Hosier: head of conveyancer relationships, PEXA UK
Rob Hosier is head of conveyancer relationships at PEXA UK, where he oversees the management and growth of PEXA’s relationships with all conveyancers. Hosier brings over 18 years of experience in the conveyancing sector. What was your career path to your current role? I started my career as a legal assistant straight out of law […]
50 not out – a life in property
With a 50 year career in property (he claims to have started when he was 3!) there is little Mike Day hasn’t seen or heard. In this latest episode of the Today’s Conveyancer Podcast, Day sits down with David Opie to discuss a career which has taken him to the very top of estate agency […]
The judgment line
In the fourth of his weekly series, Ed Molyneux introduces the concept that should shape how every conveyancing firm thinks about AI: the judgment line, and which side of it your work falls on. Over the past three weeks I have written about what AI can do, where it fails, and why provenance is the […]
Profile: Joy Hagelthorn, senior product manager at e4 Strategic UK
Joy Hagelthorn is a senior product manager with more than 17 years’ experience in digital innovation. For the past three years, she has focused exclusively on UK conveyancing and lender technology, working closely across product design and software delivery. Her work is centred on reducing friction in the UK conveyancing process by developing intuitive, modern […]
Transforming local land charges migrations with AI
The development of an AI (artificial intelligence) tool by HM Land Registry’s Local Land Charges Programme is dramatically accelerating and enhancing the migration of local authority local land charges records. HMLR lead data scientist Ibad Kureshi explains how. Local authorities across England and Wales hold millions of local land charges records in electronic, paper and […]