RICS launches consultation on updated party wall practice guidance
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched a consultation on the draft 8th edition of Party Wall Legislation and Procedure, inviting feedback from surveyors, legal professionals, dispute resolution practitioners and other stakeholders involved in party wall matters in England and Wales. The consultation will run for approximately eight weeks across April and May […]
Women in Residential Property hosts networking lunch and calls for conveyancers to get involved
Women in Residential Property, a group which fosters collaboration between women working across all sectors of the residential property sector, is hosting a networking lunch in London this month and is urging more conveyancers to get involved. Founded in 2017 by Emma Vigus, Women In Residential Property holds regular digital and in-person networking events in […]
Communication, unclear expectations and unjustified delays are key causes of residential conveyancing complaints
Poor communication, unclear or unrealistic expectations and unjustified delays without proper explanation are the key causes of complaints in property transactions, according to the Legal Ombudsman in the latest Spotlight published on its website. The Spotlight goes on to provide guidance for practitioners, focusing on what the ombudsman describes as three critical junctures: instruction and […]
Lawfront adds Reading-based Field Seymour Parkes to portfolio
Private equity backed consolidator Lawfront has announced the acquisition of Reading based Field Seymour Parkes, taking the total number of firms under its ‘regional leaders’ banner to seven. Field Seymour Parkes joins regional firms Farleys, Fisher Jones Greenwood, Nelsons, Slater Heelis, Brachers and Trethowans as the Blixt-backed Lawfront continues to add to its growing […]
LSB confirms Richard Blakeway as chair of Office for Legal Complaints
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has confirmed the appointment of Richard Blakeway to the post of chair of the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) after an open competition. The appointment follows Blakeway’s appearance before the Justice Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny last month, and has been approved by Sarah Sackman, the minister of state for […]
HMLR faces ‘pivotal’ year, says board chair Sachdev in response to Baroness Taylor
HM Land Registry faces a “pivotal” year, according to chair of the organisation’s board, Neil Sachdev (pictured). The comments came in a response to a letter from parliamentary under-secretary of state Baroness Taylor of Stevenage outlining expectations for the agency. In her letter, Baroness Taylor said HMLR should reposition its service offering from that of […]
Legal tech sees 35% increase in external investment as government invests £4.5m in incubator
LawtechUK, a Ministry of Justice-backed initiative supporting technology startups in the legal sector, has secured further funding to enable it to continue operating for the next three years. The programme, currently delivered in a partnership between CodeBase and Legal Geek, will receive an additional £4.5 million over the next three years. Last year, UK-founded lawtech […]
National Housing Bank launches with £16bn fund for new homes and regeneration
A National Housing Bank, first signposted last year, is officially open for business, providing public finance “to accelerate the delivery of new homes and communities, whilst also enabling the regeneration of towns and cities across England”, the government has announced. The institution is a subsidiary of Homes England and is backed by the government to […]
Move Reports joins Conveyancing Association as affiliate member
Independent search company and new homes search specialist Move Reports has joined the Conveyancing Association (CA) as an affiliate member. As an affiliate member, the company – which supplies conveyancing searches and property information for solicitors, conveyancers, estate agents and property developers – will be able to participate in member meetings, CA events and online […]
Banks to contact those on fixed rates to ease risk of rising rates shock
The chancellor Rachel Reeves has brought together the six largest banks and building societies to secure a commitment they will support customers coming to the end of fixed term mortgage deals, as rates rise following the global uncertainty caused by the conflict in Iran. In a unanimous 9-0 vote by the Bank of England’s monetary […]
LeO seeks input on draft complaints procedure
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has launched a call for input on its draft Model Complaints Resolution Procedure (MCRP), a new framework aimed at improving the consistency and quality of how complaints are handled by legal service providers. “Effective complaints handling is fundamental to trust and confidence in legal services,” the LeO said. “However, our insight from more […]
OPDA calls for coordinated long-term strategy to build national housing resilience
The Open Property Data Association (OPDA) is urging the government to adopt a more coordinated, long-term housing strategy, and warns the UK property market remains dangerously exposed to global shocks without deeper structural reform. The Iran conflict has again revealed how vulnerable the UK housing market is to geopolitical instability, OPDA chair Maria Harris says, […]
New Law Society guide informs solicitors of AI risks
The Law Society of England and Wales has launched a new practical guide to help solicitors make safer, more informed technology decisions and warns that unsafe AI adoption may expose firms to risks. The majority of firms and solicitors now use AI for routine legal practice tasks such as drafting documents and analysing case material, […]
One in five law firm partners ‘may quit in next three years’
One in five partners are considering leaving their employers within the next few years, a survey across the UK Top 250 law firms suggests, as assumptions that being made partner meant you had a job for life no longer ring true. According to research by TBD Marketing, one fifth (21%) of the 160 law firm […]
LSB must focus less on minutiae and more on big issues for regulators, CLC says
The Legal Services Board (LSB) should be “a more vocal and visible advocate” for frontline regulators, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has said in response to a public consultation on the oversight regulator’s draft business plan and budget for 2026-7. The CLC has urged the LSB to focus its efforts on “system-wide issues rather […]
Housing market “gradually regaining momentum” according to Propertymark report
The housing market is “stabilising rather than surging” suggests the latest Housing Insight report from Propertymark. But the report draws on data published before the recent Bank of England decision to hold base rate and the current volatility in the Middle East which commentators predict will have an impact on the property market. Provisional data […]
AI is blurring boundaries on legal advice, new LSB chief exec warns
Richard Orpin, the new chief executive of the Legal Services Board, has hailed legal services as a “huge economic success story,” but warned that “AI is blurring the boundaries between regulated and unregulated legal advice.” Speaking at LegalEx London, Orpin (pictured) highlighted that the revenue generated by legal activities in the UK grew from £41.4 […]
MHCLG shares contractual control agreement guidance for conveyancers
New government transparency rules will expose secret land deals, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has said, as it publishes guidance on contractual control agreements. The guidance, which is intended for conveyancers submitting information to HM Land Registry on behalf of clients, has been issued by MHCLG to support the implementation of […]
‘Impossible for LSB to meet objectives’, Legal Services Consumer Panel warns
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has shared its critical response to the Ministry of Justice’s review of the Legal Services Board, claiming its “fragmented and outdated regulatory design” make it impossible to meet its statutory objectives. The Panel – an independent arm of the Legal Services Board – says the LSB is constrained by the […]
SMEs would bear the brunt of proposals to fund access to justice through client accounts – CILEX
Small to medium sized law firms could be unfairly and disproportionately penalised under Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plans to redistribute interest from client accounts to fund access to justice, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) claims. The proposed Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts (ILCA) would represent a “further tax and compliance burden which could […]