The recently formed Property Lawyers Action Group (PLAG) has published its charter containing its core principles and beliefs.
They are a values-driven organisation comprised of practising lawyers, committed to promoting the best interests and well-being of lawyers, and property lawyers in particular, and influencing decisions which affect the legal property sector generally.
The group are concerned that the regulatory framework provided by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is not fit for purpose as evidenced by recent failings e.g Axiom Ince and they propose reform. They also have similar concerns regarding the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) and in particular, the apparent lack of regulation of ‘factory’ style firms, e.g the ‘Simplify’ incident of 2021.
They are concerned by the prevalence and lack of regulation of referral fees in the property sector which in their view favours neither conveyancers nor the public. The group believe that the conveyancers’ remit has been expanded too far and without sufficient cause or consultation and they strongly oppose further responsibilities being imposed upon conveyancers which invariably delay transactions and increase costs for our clients.
They are concerned by the Legal Service’s Board’s commitment to driving ‘price transparency’, particularly the focus on comparison websites which will incentivise ‘hidden costs’ models of pricing and disincentivise actual transparency.
PLAG are concerned by the amount of influence that third party organisations hold over the property sector, for example search companies and providers of legal technology and are also concerned by Trading Standards imposing Material Information (MI) on the property sector without sufficient consultation. They are concerned that this will escalate into mandatory use of Up-Front Information (UFI) which will replicate the many failures of Home Information Packs (HIPs).
The group aim to encourage all conveyancers to adopt and maintain high standards of legal practice and professionalism, despite the tremendous pressures being placed upon us from various sources. PLAG believe that the Law Society could do much more to address the many issues affecting conveyancing Solicitors and that it should now focus on supporting them and promoting their best interests.
2 Responses
Is it telling that this group remains completely anonymous? No mention of who’s started it, who the members are, not even on their website can you see who’s supporting it or has set it up. Come on guys, have the courage of your convictions and put your names to your opinions, don’t hide behind anonymity.
Hi Matthew, you may contact us using the contact form on our website or by signing up to the forum if you have any questions. We have nothing to hide.