With over 20 years of experience in residential conveyancing, consultant solicitor John Coulter has worked across high-volume firms, boutique practices, and leadership roles. Alongside his legal practice, he advises law firms on operational efficiency, capacity management and sustainable growth, with a particular focus on improving workflow design, client communication and team wellbeing – without increasing cost or burnout.
What was your career path to your current role?
I started my career in conveyancing at a large, process-heavy firm and worked my way through a range of roles, from office assistant to eventual qualification as a solicitor. I was made redundant in 2009, after which I moved between firms of varying sizes before becoming managing director of a fledgling auction-focused practice in 2015.
Across each firm, I saw different approaches to conveyancing, but the same underlying issue persisted: a lack of clear structure around how work should flow through the business. That experience led me to step back and focus on why the same problems keep appearing in different firms, regardless of size or technology.
In 2022, I set up my own conveyancing consultancy with a clear intention to approach the profession differently. During this period, I developed an early version of what would later become the ClearPath Capacity Framework, focused on structure, visibility and sustainable working practices. In 2025, this work evolved into the launch of ClearPath Conveyancing and ClearPath Consultants.
Did you have any other career ambitions?
Earlier in my career, I assumed progression meant working my way toward partnership or ownership. Over time, I realised I was more interested in how work actually flows through a business than in hierarchy. My ambition shifted from scale for its own sake to helping firms work better with the people and tools they already have.
What keeps you motivated in your work?
The moment when a team moves from constant firefighting to clarity. Conveyancing does not have to feel chaotic, but many firms have normalised stress as part of the job. Helping people regain control of their time, their pipeline, and their client relationships remains highly motivating.
If you could change one thing about the transaction process, what would it be?
Visibility. Too much work in conveyancing is invisible until it becomes urgent. If firms could clearly see where matters stall, why they stall, and who owns the next action, a significant amount of pressure would disappear almost overnight.
What has been the best development in conveyancing in the last 20 years?
Digital communication and document handling. Email, client portals and e-signatures have removed genuine friction from transactions. The challenge is that many firms adopted the tools without redesigning the process around them, so the benefits have been uneven.
And the worst?
The belief that more volume is always the answer. Pursuing throughput without understanding capacity has led to burnout, errors, and poor client experiences. Growth without structure is rarely sustainable.
Do you think conveyancing will ever be fully digitised?
Not fully. Property transactions involve people, judgement and risk, and those elements do not disappear. Technology can support the process, but it cannot replace accountability or decision-making.
Do you think it should be?
No. The goal should not be full digitisation, but intelligent support. Used properly, technology should reduce noise and repetition so professionals can focus on the parts of the job that genuinely require expertise.
What’s the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you regarding your career?
Do not confuse being busy with being effective. That distinction becomes more important the longer you stay in the profession.
What’s the best piece of advice you’d like to give to someone just starting out?
Learn how the process works, not just the law. Understanding where your work fits into the wider transaction will make you more effective, and far less stressed, than simply working harder.
Tell us something people may be surprised to know about you…
Much of my work now involves simplifying systems rather than adding new ones. People often expect that improvement means more software or more complexity, when in reality it usually means removing friction and making decisions clearer.
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