The British Conveyancing Awards, sponsored by Dye & Durham, simply would not happen without the support of the industry.
Thank you to all those who have entered and sponsored the event which this year is hosted as a hybrid event; with an in-person ceremony at the stunning Church House in London, simultaneously live streamed via The British Conveyancing Awards website.
Our 2022 ceremony is a departure from the focus of the 2021 awards. To simply repeat the 2021 awards would miss the point of where the conveyancing industry is going. We are entering a different phase for conveyancers with a flatter market, increasing on and offline fraud risks, PII, the balance of flexible working and continued digitisation all presenting new and different challenges.
Our 2022 categories and supporters reflect this shift in emphasis, and we are delighted to introduce them through a series of Supporter in Focus pieces. Alongside Innovation of the Year sponsors Lawyer Checker, a Dye & Durham solution, we look forward to recognising the very best our industry has to offer.
First of all, tell us who you are and what you do
Now in its 11th year, Lawyer Checker, a Dye & Durham Solution, has become a well-known, trusted brand within the conveyancing sector. Our innovative and cost-effective solutions have helped law firms achieve demonstrable due diligence in some of the most challenging times ever experienced. Increased cyber threat arising from Covid restrictions, working from home and the pressure of the SDLT holiday have all had an impact. We are proud to have continued protecting client funds and the reputation of hundreds of law firms through our Lawyer Checker solution, which mitigates the threat conveyancers face from fraudsters when transferring funds between firms.
What prompted you to support The British Conveyancing Awards again this year?
We are delighted to be supporting The British Conveyancing Awards again this year. These awards are all about recognising and celebrating the sheer hard work and effort that conveyancers have put into keeping the housing market moving. The volume of new transactions fuelled by the Stamp Duty Holiday in addition to the strain and isolation of remote working, has resulted in a particularly challenging time for conveyancers and we feel they deserve to be recognised for their heroic efforts. Lawyer Checker is honoured to be able to support The British Conveyancing Awards and shine a spotlight on the very best in the industry.
Why did Innovation of the Year stand out for you as one to throw your support behind?
Over the past 12 months, we believe that the impact of innovation has never had greater positive results as part of the day-to-day workings of law firms. Conveyancers have been under a huge amount of pressure to continue to remain compliant, meet the needs of their clients and provide excellent customer service, despite battling unprecedented workloads in addition to the difficulties of remote communication. It is vital that conveyancers implement the best tools to streamline their processes and improve efficiencies and we truly believe that there are excellent innovators out there. We are now really looking forward to celebrating the positive impact they have had on the sector.
How do you see the 2022 conveyancing market shaping up?
Competition for properties with gardens and home offices continues to be intense, despite supply of such properties reaching an all-time low. As a result, as we enter 2022, we are seeing what is being referred to as a “Race for Space”. With Covid still causing disruption and inevitable staff absence, pressure is being maintained on firms managing high workloads. We therefore predict a busy year for conveyancers in 2022 as we will continue to see large volumes of transactions over the coming months.
For fraudsters, the pandemic and changed working practices has opened new opportunities and we have seen a rise in fraud in the conveyancing market. Conveyancers must remain vigilant of criminals who are well aware of the intense pressure legal professionals face and will do everything in their power to create opportunities for monetary gain. Conveyancers should lean on the expertise and innovative tools available to them to help mitigate risk and protect their clients and themselves.
What changes or improvements do you see need to be made in the conveyancing sector over the next 12-18 months?
The adoption of enabling technology to manage remote workflows should be seen as a positive outcome of the Covid crisis. Long-term, it will improve efficiencies. However, with cyber security being one of the main concerns facing the sector, legal professionals now need to implement proven solutions to mitigate risk. We know that impersonation is one of the most significant issues. Therefore, solutions like Lawyer Checker, which securely checks account details when transferring funds between firms, can help maintain the integrity of every transaction and we anticipate further uptake of such solutions across the industry in the near future.
What are you doing to lead or be part of that change?
We are committed to educating the industry about the challenges of fraud and how to mitigate risk. As well as supplying our industry-leading and award-winning Lawyer Checker solution, we run a series of free webinars throughout the year, often partnering with other industry leaders. Recent webinars include partnering with the National Cyber Security Centre, CTS, and Howdens.
When it comes to our solutions, we have invested in improvements to the Lawyer Checker portal interface to increase functionality and enhance the user experience, as well as to create a more efficient integration into client’s CRM, CMS, or PMS systems.
We offer comprehensive and bespoke training to new clients through our dedicated onboarding manager to help them implement our solutions for the benefit of their businesses.
Last year, Lawyer Checker was acquired by Dye & Durham and now our customers also benefit from the additional support, processes and resources of our global business.
Do you have any messages for the sector or the firms and individuals entering this year’s awards?
We are looking forward to learning how firms have embraced innovation and used the latest tools and processes to create efficiencies and increase security within their working practices. We would like to thank all the entrants and wish them the very best of luck during the judging process!
Thank you to Lawyer Checker for their support at The British Conveyancing Awards 2022.
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