I attended a very interesting conference in the middle of last week. It took place in a lovely venue in Regents Park. Although you would not expect the weather to make a difference as to how good a conference is, I have to say that the presence of sunshine really helped – sitting in a nice place, barbecue lunch, good company, made it a very enjoyable day. And on such a sunny day, it was good to see a session on climate change and the new Law Society Practice Guide.
But it was the interview with the Vice President of the Law Society which struck me – some interesting points that he made included a comment that he had heard from a litigation solicitor who had said:
“Dispute lawyers dispute with each other whereas conveyancers do it on social media.”
The attendees in the conference room were asked how many would do conveyancing again if they were at the start of their career and it was interesting to see that only about 10 put up their hands. This shows that there is a recruitment crisis in our profession, but as I have said before, what better feeling is there than telling a client that they have completed the purchase of their dream house and that they can now collect their keys?
There was chat about mental health and wellbeing, and I have to admit that I feel that I need to dust off my running shoes and do that Couch to 5K journey again.
What came through is that we have a difficult job and that those coming into the legal profession do not necessarily want to work in conveyancing. I have my own thoughts and views about how we can make it a more appealing area of work but it is a hard job, and at least those in Chancery Lane do know and appreciate this. It is good that the incoming President is a conveyancing solicitor – I hope he can promote us all and get those youngsters interested in the fascinating area of house moving.
This is written by a real high street conveyancer who wishes to remain anonymous. Read more in Today’s Conveyancer every week.
