Following on from the success of the first National Conveyancing Week hosted in England and Wales in March 2023, The Law Society of Northern Ireland has partnered with Property News to launch the first ever Conveyancing Week NI running from 16-20 October 2023.
Where National Conveyancing Week focused particularly on the solicitor’s relationships with other stakeholders, the Law Society of Northern Ireland’s event, organised through its Conveyancing and Property Committee widened the scope of engagement including:
- The launch of a new consumer leaflet aimed at educating the consumer about the fundamental role of the conveyancing solicitor in the process.
- Student events at Queens University Belfast, University of Ulster and the trainee solicitor cohort at the Institute of Professional Legal studies particularly in light of issues identified regarding not only recruitment but also retention of staff, especially outside the Belfast area.
- Consolidating and building the existing relationships between RICS and NAEA Propertymark, in a revision to a 2018 Memorandum of Understanding for improving communication between the professions which had identified that “front-loading” was essential to streamlining the sales process.
As part of the week’s events the annual Conveyancing Conference was hosted on Tuesday 17 October, sponsored by DUAL.
“This is the largest conference of the Law Society’s CPD year, with over 400 delegates coming together to hear updates about the numerous areas of conveyancing which can cause issues. I’m delighted that we were completely booked out, and the success of this year’s event encourages us that there is a real passion for engaging with challenges, discussing our concerns, and reaching potential solutions together”.
Said Conveyancing and Property Committee Chair Philip Armstrong
And a new “People, Professionals and Property” collaboration event is being held on 19 October. The revised Memorandum of Understanding contains a questionnaire which is designed to help identify potential legal issues prior to the property being sale agreed and also gives the estate agent further relevant background information such as timescales and other practical considerations.
PropertyNews.com, a consumer property portal and Media Partner for the week, are promoting the role of solicitors in the process with videos and posts from the events and distributing the new consumer leaflet widely to their users throughout the week.
“We’ve been talking about holding a NI Conveyancing Week tailored to the needs and experiences of Northern Ireland conveyancers for some time, and the fact that all of our ticketed events for this week are completely booked out, shows the interest that people have in engaging with the solutions for how we can improve the house moving experience for everyone – the solicitor, the estate agent, the surveyor and crucially, the client”.
Added Armstrong.
