Celebrating 25 years in business, X-Press Legal Services co-founder Dave Lister joins the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss the changes he has seen in his time in the industry. 

X-Press Legal Services, a search and ancillary services provider, is run by Dave and his wife Lynne, and their 3 adult children. The origins go back to Lynne's time in publishing when as the editor of a franchise magazine, she was introduced to the Property Search Group (PSG). The rest, as they say, is history. 

In the 25 years since the business has seen the search industry change beyond almost all recognition. In the early days everything was paper-based, there was no digital services, says Dave. And they would spend hours and days hopping between local authorities to get the information. 

He empathises with the sentiment that conveyancers are under far too much pressure; everything we do is to help the conveyancer and make their life easier says Dave. 

There is still a place for the personal touch, recounting a recent call with a client about an issue identified with lead mining. You can't automate the process, he adds, there are too many rabbit holes. You won't ever remove the human from the process. 

He calls on the profession to continue to collaborate and work together; and set expectations accordingly when it comes to access to data; let's not confuse the word "open" with the word "free" - these companies have spent huge sums of money building these data sets; we can't expect them to provide access free of charge. 

Dave says he will continue to play an active part in the business despite approaching a milestone birthday, and continues to enjoy working in the sector and alongside his family. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

As one of the disruptors in the wake of the Legal Services Act 2007 QualitySolicitors (QS) was launched in 2009 with the ambition to help the high street fight back against the anticipated onslaught of major brands entering the legal market - so-called 'Tesco Law.'

QS grew rapidly, with firms up and down the country adopting the familiar black and pink branding, adding the name "QualitySolicitors" to their firm name to create greater brand recognition. In 2011 an investment of c.£100m saw Palamon Capital Partners take a majority stake in the group.

In the years since QS has remained steadfast in its support for the high street and, after a short stint as part of Metamorph, emerged relatively unscathed following a Management Buyout (MBO) in 2022.

On this latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast, host David Opie welcomes CEO Richard Skelley and Chief Operating Officer Victoria Browning to discuss what's next for QS.

There is still much continuity; Victoria has been with the business since 2016 overseeing much of the work done to support firms with recruitment and business development, employer branding and conveyancing panel services. And equally there are breaks from the past; QS firms no longer need to rebrand their firm for example.

The business is now focused on 4 key principles, explains Richard. The QS Way: A Philosophy for Sustainable Growth covers People, Process & Procedures, Power of Many, and Profile - principles supported by continued to efforts to help firms through the QualitySolicitors consumer-facing website which still generates 1m hits annually.

And membership has been reviewed with a new tiered approach offering free, 'lite' and full options for firms. It is, says Richard, a much more flexible approach than previously.

We've kept the great bits QS had - we have over 100 sites across the country and still have clients that joined right at the start - and augmented it with a range new options based on member feedback, concludes Richard, adding we are always happy to talk to firms interested in learning more about how QS can support them in the growth ambitions.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In this specially recorded podcast, the Today's Conveyancer podcast joins forces with its sister podcasts from the Today's Wills and Probate and Today's Family Lawyer online news publications to discuss the topic of mental health and wellbeing ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, from 13th May 2024.

Podcast host David Opie welcomes Legal Director at Convey Law Laura Burkinshaw, Michael Culver (Culver Law) and Marc Etherington (Rayden Solicitors) to discuss the mental health and wellbeing of those working across residential conveyancing, private client and family law. The three guests identify some shared, and unique, challenges they face in their own roles, and discuss their own experiences of dealing with their mental health and wellbeing.

What is clear from the discussion is that legal services is taking mental health and wellbeing much more seriously than it ever has; with firms taking a more proactive approach to support for staff.

The podcast moves on to explore a range of skills and tools we can employ in our own mental health and wellbeing journeys to cope with the stresses and strains of modern legal life; with some fantastic ideas shared to help people exercise their bodies and minds, cope and deal with their roles, and get into what is described as their "flow state"; the experience of being so absorbed by an engaging, enjoyable task that your attention is completely held by it.

The podcast is being published as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In this latest episode of the Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie discusses the challenges firms face with the Building Safety Act (BSA). Liz Ramsden and Hannah Page, Senior Associate and Associate respectively at law firm Knights who have immersed themselves in all things Building Safety Act and now act on behalf of Knights in matters where the BSA applies; and have also worked with other conveyancing and property law firms to support them.

Liz and Hannah explore what the key issues are, not least of which is whether the property actually comes under the scope of the act. It is, says Liz, a hugely complex piece of legislation. Every property is different and each transaction must be taken on its own merits. It can also be difficult to establish where liability sits with regards the landlord or developer.

Hannah concurs, adding that even determining the height of the building is a critical element that conveyancers should be seeking external advise on from surveyors.It is also common for leaseholder deed of certificates and and landlord certificates to be incorrectly completed; and some lenders won't lend on non-qualifying leases

The list of woes continues; the BSA is open to interpretation and getting it wrong could have catastrophic consequences for individuals and firms,  Advice in many cases is to obtain guidance from counsel but this tends to increase costs.

What is apparent is the attitude of professional indemnity insurers toward transactions involving the BSA, which has been understandably risk-averse.  Knights have actively engaged to demonstrate expertise, procedures, policies, disclaimers, enquiries and retainers which have been agreed between the firm and PI insurers to enable them to do their work on BSA. Critically, they have been clear on what they will, and will not, undertake as part of their work.

This wide ranging discussion explores the challenges presented by BSA, the interim updates which make the act more workable, and some practical advice on how firms can address BSA related issues with transactions.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Joining the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast is Dan Temple, an expert in acknowledging and understanding the human impact of working, and managing employees and businesses. The discussion centres on creating effective and high performing teams, and what steps law firms can, and should, be taking to enable this in their business.

Dan leads Cobalt Human Solutions, a training consultancy which focuses on creating effective teams, drawn from his own experiences in the Royal Air Force as part of the Chinook helicopter crew.

The podcast discusses how creating high performing teams requires a number of key elements. Dan describes how trust and accountability are paramount.

• There should be a clear objective and vision which can be communicated to the team
• Roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and people understand their own contribution to success
• Processes and procedures are in place that ensure the training is effective
• People have to have the ability to get on with others; they don't necessarily need to like one another, but there must be mutual respect

Ultimately, says Dan, the environment and culture of the workplace is where the success and failure of organisations is derived. He suggests that one of the key failings he identifies in many businesses is a blame culture; the inability of staff to be open, honest and appropriately challenge - what Dan describes as a "just culture." Staff are fearful of doing something wrong, rather than challenging management.

As well as root cause analysis, Dan encourages organisations to conduct "pre-mortems" - the idea being that you spend time identifying potential pitfalls in a plan and anticipate how you might deal with them should they arise.

And if you ever wanted to understand how the difference between egg mayonnaise and aircraft is relevant to leadership and management, listen in to this insightful and entertaining discussion.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Host David Opie is joined by Landmark Estate Agency Services MD Ben Robinson, and Ochresoft MD Rob Gurney for this short review of the latest Property Trends Report, covering January to March 2024. 

Covering listings, sold-subject-to-contract, search ordering and completions, the data provides insight into the current market conditions, and provides an indicator for what we might expect in the coming months.

Listen in for expert insight and discussion on the latest stats from across the property market.  

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

What are digital property logbooks, and why are they important to the future of property transactions? To answer these questions, and more, the Today's Conveyancer podcast welcomes on Nigel Walley; founder and CEO of property logbook company Chimni, and Chair of the Residential Logbook Association. 

Nigel explains what the key differences between logbooks and Google Docs or Dropbox, for example; how should data providers share their data with property logbooks; and what role does the homeowner have in ensuring the data remains up to date and relevant. 

Property logbooks have been touted as a home for the material and up front information professionals are increasingly being encouraged to collate at the point a property is listed for market but, as Nigel explains, they are currently working with a number of law firms to introduce logbooks toward the end of the transaction as a home for all the documents collated through the course of a transaction, and as part of a secure handover from seller to buyer for home tech like alarms, smart heating systems and other sometimes looked over assets. 

Nigel suggests that there is still a huge amount of work to be around the digitisation of the conveyancing transaction; rather than look at how we can turn what we currently do digital, we should be asking in a world where consumers  are taking up all these digital services, what could a property transaction look like. 

The discussion finishes with an exploration of what the Residential Logbook Association is, how it came about, and what its plans are for future regulation and innovation of the digital property logbook. If you ever wanted to know the ins and outs of the opportunity now, and in the future, listen in to this insightful discussion.  

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Compliance business boss Tim Barnett joins the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast to discuss the work being done to improve the process, and experience for consumers, of anti-money laundering, customer due diligence and know your client verification.

As CEO of ID and AML verification business Credas, Tim is well aware of the challenges this presents to firms and suppliers and reminds us about the SRA's warning notice at the end of 2023 which highlighted that up to 70% of firms were not fully compliance with anti-money laundering processes and procedures. And while he has sympathy with the idea that the burden of AML compliance falls heavily on conveyancers, he also points out the wider economic and societal role conveyancers and the wider property profession play in maintaining crime-free transactions. But he does acknowledge the administrative burden placed on the profession by legislation; something he and Credas are working hard to reduce.
 
He also provides some compliance pointers on how firms can ensure they remain the right side of AML compliance; warning that if firms are reliant upon ID document  verification by email, or are not regularly re-running client verification checks, they will almost certainly not be compliant.

Credas are, like many organisations, looking at ways to harness artificial intelligence, but, warns Tim, they are now regularly coming up against documentation and supposed evidence submitted through their systems as part of AML verification, that has been created by AI; for the purposes of fraud and deception.

The discussion moves on to explore the work being done by government to introduce a legislative framework to enable the sharing of ID verification and client due diligence throughout the transaction; research conducted by Credas has identified a consumer will have to verify their identity 5.4 times during a typical housing transaction. The Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) creates the legislative environment to share this data, and provides a standard for digital identity providers to adhere to, to ensure their checks and reports can be relied upon.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Chief Revenue Officer at Cashroom Alex Holt joins Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie to discuss his Cashroom and the development of the business over the last 10 years. Cashroom offer outsourced finance functions for law firms across the UK; and has grown as a number of factors have come together to place pressure on law firm finance functions. 

Alex points to a reduction in the number law firm specialist cashiers, many of whom have retired and exited the profession taking with them their longstanding expertise and experience.  Tighter regulation and the stricter compliance requirements compounds the issue and has forced firms to look more closely at their finance and cashiering function and tighten up on any risks therein. It's a trend Holt has seen in his time with the business with good cashiers in shorter supply.

Cashroom have recently launched in America; which understandably has been an eye opener. Despite overarching compliance requirements across the country, the application is very much implemented on a state by state basis and in much the same way Cashroom have been able to support firms with the tighter finance regulations in England, Wales and Scotland, there is also an opportunity to do so in the USA says Alex.  
 
Ultimately says Alex, like many roles in law firms, the finance function is coming under increased scrutiny and given it's central role in the organisation, and associated risks with fraud and handling client monies, it is important firms consider carefully how they manage their finances and plan for future resourcing.  

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast talks to Chief Operating Officer at environmental data and search provider Groundsure, Malcolm Smith. After nearly 20 years in the sector Malcolm is known to many and in a refreshingly honest discussion, he shares his thoughts on current market conditions, the up front information debate, and normalising climate change advice for home movers.

Malcolm provides a positive outlook on property transactions; predicting an uplift in 2024. "Conveyancers will be as busy as they want to be" suggests Malcolm; with the mass exodus of conveyancers and experience during the pandemic, there is an argument to say we're not geared up for any significant increase in transaction volumes. 

Groundsure are a founding member of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA). With many still bearing the scars of Home Information Packs (HIPs - indeed Malcolm was in the room when Grant Shapps announced HIPs were to be axed) he is passionate about groups like the OPDA having a role in shaping the discussion and learning from the past. Having agreed data structures and standards to enable the effective sharing of data is an important part this process. It will, says Malcolm, take everyone in the sector to drive change. 

On the material and up front information debate he is critical of the governance and structure around the guidance and raises concerns about the number of providers who could enter the market and "cut corners."  The quality of the information and data is fundamental to the ability of home movers, lenders, estate agents, and conveyancers to rely on it. 

Moving on to climate change Malcolm explains the driver for more climate data came from the banking and lending space; reviewing their portfolios and lending risks into the future. Acknowledging the impact on conveyancers Malcolm adds that in much the same way that there is no expectation on conveyancers to be contaminated land or flood experts, they are not expected to be climate change advisors and that organisations like Groundsure should continue to do the heavy lifting. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

This special edition of the Today's Conveyancer Podcast is guest hosted by one of the founders of National Conveyancing Week Rob Hailstone. Rob speaks with HM Land Registry's Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Customer and Strategy
 Mike Harlow. 

Rob questions Mike about progress on the registrations backlogs, consistency of response from HMLR,  lender updates, some of the practicalities of tools like mapsearch, local land charges, and the roadmap to digitisation for the government agency, which is heavily involved in the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG). 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast welcome Dan Warburton on to discuss the topic of leadership. Dan works with law firms leaders and partners to elevate their leadership skills to enable them empower staff to be more efficient and effective. 

Dan describes his work as "the skill of profitable delegation;" to create leaders who can deliver high levels of performance across their team. 

He cites the structure of many law firms in which lawyers are targeted on clients and the number of hours they bill... the system is set up in such a way that the more hours you work, in theory the more profit and remuneration can achieve. But when it comes to promotion what happens is you are expected to continue to build a client bank, and bill your hours, and manage a team of people. It is, says Dan, unachievable without simply more time into the equation, which has an impact on wellbeing and staff retention.

Few partners achieve what Dan describes as a "transition out of being a technician in the business to being a business owner. The structure and success of the organisation relies on them. 

There is a way to resolve this,  but we can only create successful teams when they willingly take responsibility for the success of the business. Dan shares his insight into how law firms can empower management teams and leaders to build trust and confidence in staff through regular one-to-one calls and coaching sessions. 

There is a cycle that needs breaking in law firms, says Dan. If a partners we keep our head down and just keep trying to crank out work we build firms that rely on us. When our team want things from us and we tell them what they need, they just keep relying on us. We must delegate work away and create highly effective team members underneath us

Throughout the discussion Dan shares leadership insight and tools that leaders and manager can take away and implement today. One such example is the process of making requests, in which there are 3 key elements

1. You must be clear on exactly what you want done; which must be measurable, not an abstract principle such as "keeping the client happy."
2. It must have a timeframe
3. You must have joint agreement and offer the respondent the opportunity accept, decline or counteroffer in order to reach a jointly agreed action plan. 

Ultimately, says Dan, when leadership is in, it's in.. when leadership is out, it's out. Listen in to this interesting discussion for law firm leaders and managers. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In a wide ranging interview Deputy Vice President of the Law Society Mark Evans talks to Today's Conveyancer podcast host David Opie about his experience of working in property law, and more recently his role as a Tutor at the University Of Law. 

In October Mark will transition from Deputy Vice President to the role of Vice-President, and ultimately President of the Law Society in 2025, and discusses his view of conveyancing and the challenges and opportunities facing the profession.

The Law Society's upcoming Property Law Conference in October will cover many of the topics conveyancers need to know about; including the next round of guidance on climate change, legislative updates, TA6 consultation and technology and Mark encourages practitioners to attend and stay up to date on the latest sector goings on.  

As a tutor at the University of Law, Mark is on the frontline of education and eulogises to his students about the importance having a home remains to the general public. We will always need conveyancers, says Mark, and goes on to defend students and newly-qualified conveyancers from some of the criticism levelled at them and their understanding of land law.

It is incumbent on firms to ensure they continually invest and train their staff and ultimately support them to be better at their jobs. 

The discussion finishes with a synopsis of the Law Society's current work on the TA6 consultation. With a timetable now in place, and having chaired the recent Special General Meeting personally, Mark says he is pleased to see the level of engagement from around the profession and is looking forward to being involved in the consolation in the coming months. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast explores the perennial question on the minds and lips of most businesses... what do clients really want?

A report from Law Firm Marketing Club does just that. Now in it's 4th year, "What Clients Want" is an extensive piece of research which asks consumers of legal services what they want from their law firm; from first introduction through to matter completion. Law Firm Marketing Club founder Clare Fanner joins host David Opie to discuss the findings and lessons for law firms.  

With 4 years' worth of data behind them, the report is now able to start tracking consumer expectations and trends over time. Once of the really interesting elements of the report is the breakdown by demographic of respondents  and the changing expectations of consumers of legal services.

Client care and return business feature strongly in the report. 53% of respondents have used a law firm more than once but of those, a staggering 41% have not returned to the firm they'd used previously, but had moved to use a different firm. Read into that what you want but it's one of many statistics Clare shares in the course of the discussion.

The report delves in to  the experience of using a law firm and in particular first impressions and onboarding. It is interesting to note that the way in which consumers select firms is changing, with a focus on sustainability and ESG higher on younger people's agenda. 

There are plenty of lessons for firms as Clare shares details of responses to the extensive survey. The report is sponsored by Moneypenny and available via the Law Firm Marketing Club website. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Ruth Beeton co founder of Home Sale Pack join the Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss the launch of the business which aims to collect more property information and data up front in the course of a property transaction in order to create greater speed and certainty.

Ruth, from North East firm HS Conveyancing Ltd, has been practicing for over 20 years and decries the current state of the conveyancing profession, which has seen trivial issue like "whether the fire alarm has batteries in it, whether the guttering needs to be cleared" impact transactions.   

"We're not practicing in law any more. You're arguing over whether the boiler has been serviced of the electrics have been tested. You're not arguing over the legal points of the title."

Home Sale Pack estimate over 250,000 property transactions fell through last year. Ruth's ambitions, alongside co-founder Simon Priestley, is to reduce the risk of fall through by pulling together as much information as feasibly possible at the point the property is listed; actively engaging with the seller who knows the property best, to help. 
 
Ruth feels that by getting information up front, in line with the requirements outlined in the Material Information  Guidance recently released by the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agents Team (NTSELAT), conveyancers can reposition themselves and re-take some control and authority in the transaction. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Hamza Hafesji, Group Product Manager at Advanced Legal, joins the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss the importance of implementing a culture of performance management in a business. 

For years the only time most employees receive any sort of constructive feedback has been in an annual appraisal. For Hamza, something has to fundamentally change and feedback must be much more of an ongoing process

He cites research from PWC, LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters and their own client surveys which point to the challenges that face law firms from an HR point of view. Indeed 3 in 5 law firms are concerned about talent and shortage and churn, and are consider it a barrier to their success.

He discusses organisations described as "Stay Firms" and "Go Firms" - firms who retain, and lose, talent. While acknowledging that remuneration plays a part in the success "Stay Firms," the focus on their broader value proposition sees them not only retain staff, but makes them more efficient with higher billable hours and better staff mental health and wellbeing. 

And lawyers themselves are more vocal about what they want from work. A staggering 44% of lawyers measure their stress levels at between 8-10 out of 10 in an Advanced Legal survey. That, and a lack of progression and professional development is often the cause of staff leaving. 

"When we drill into this, we're looking at a lack of mentorship and career guidance, a lack of promotion opportunities and the desire for greater on the job assistance. All of which can be described as performance management," says Hamza.

 This discussion covers a lot of ground around the value and importance of creating a culture of performance, normalising goal setting and providing a constant feedback loop between employees and managers. For Hamza, part of the success of implementing such a cultural change is in the adoption of technology to drive through the change and support managers to ask the right questions and enable those types of conversations. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Today's Conveyancer podcast host David Opie is joined by former-conveyancer Chris Scantlebury, the founder and director at conveyancing platform ProConvey. 

Chris explains how he has moved on from front line conveyancing to develop ProConvey; an digital conveyancing tool that helps conveyancers and estate agents better collaborate. Having spent 10 years "down the mines" at the coal face of conveyancing Chris now brings that experience to the business. 

Previously known at Pre-convey, Chris launched with the intention to try and get clients in the best position possible to move the transaction forward. He explains how they started on an A3 piece of paper and following 2 years' planning, with some funding and having been through an incubator programme, ProConvey launched.

An interesting discussion on how to bring an idea from conception to market and what challenges Chris and the team have faced, along with his ambitions and aspirations for the future.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Kate Burt joins this latest episode of the Today's Conveyancer podcast. Kate is a solicitor and compliance consultant, running specialist consultancy Hive Risk. The topic of discussion is compliance and the way external organisations can support firms, before moving on to specifically talk about complaints handling. 

As Kate says, compliance is not just the SRA handbook. It touches on a myriad of other issues compliance professionals must manage including data protection, anti-money laundering, professional indemnity insurance, cyber issues, conflicts of interest... the list goes on. And the challenge for firms and compliance professionals working in them is having that lLength and breadth of knowledge. 

Discussing what often lands on the desk of compliance professionals Kate says that all to often one complaint will highlight failures across a range of compliance issues, pointing to a recent complaint she was was instructed to deal with which identified further work to be done around conduct, negligence, notification to insurers and more; 
"that's fairly typical" says Kate.

Alongside dealing with specific issues, which in conveyancing often revolve around timescales, delays, communication and fees, Kate says firms must be better at capturing complaints data to enable them to drill into trends and root cause analysis; it can be a failure of process, rather than an individual fee earner which is causing the issue suggests Kate. 

It can be the case that firms become too emotionally involved when it comes to complaints handling and in the discussion Kate provides her insight into complaints best practice, sharing her experience working with firms up and down the country; a very useful listen for compliance professionals and law firms. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast returns for it's third series with our first episode of 2024. And we're launching with a bang with Sebastian Haller, Deputy Director of Anti-Money Laundering at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers sharing the regulator's views on the challenges conveyancers and property lawyers face when it comes to anti-money laundering (AML)

Sebastian shares his own insight and experience as a regulator and provides some useful pointers for firms when it comes to compliance with AML protocols. Sebastian also shares the most common areas of non-compliance he sees daily in his role with the regulator.

Whilst he is at pains to point out that many firms are now fully compliant with the regulatory requirements of AML, he still finds firms failing to robustly check their clients and adequately assess the risk posed by the client and/or transaction. 

Source of funds and source of wealth, two related but different profiles, remain key areas of non-compliance, as is the practice wide risk assessment (PWRA) which was referred to directly by the Solicitor's Regulation Authority (SRA) Warning Notice in October 2023 and acknowledged here by Sebastian as an issue the CLC regularly identify as an area of weakness in conveyancing practices. 
 
This discussion provides insight into the regulator's approach to dealing with AML in CLC regulated practices, provides reminders for firms regulated by the SRA, and is a must listen for law firm leaders, COLP's, HOLP's, MLRO's and those responsible for AML process in their practice. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In the final Today's Conveyancer podcast of 2023 host David Opie discusses the challenges of running a law firm in 2023 with Ellisons Managing Partner Guy Longhurst. Ellisons are a full service firm with 5 offices and 275 staff across Suffolk and Essex, putting them in the top 200 bracket of firms in England and Wales. 

in this candid discussion Guy shares his experience of being with the firm for 27 years and rising through the ranks to become Managing Partner. Describing law as much more laid back when he first started, Guy shares the challenges and opportunities presented in 2023 in a conversation that covers a variety of topics including partnership structure, professional indemnity, staff, office space, compliance, technology and much more.  
 
The recent recipient of the "Great Place to Work" accreditation, Ellisons has worked hard on attracting and retaining its people, "our single biggest challenge" says Guy, who discusses their own efforts to recruit talented people, the work the firm does in it's wider remuneration, wellbeing and support package, and the introduction of a solicitor apprenticeship programme which mitigates and insulates the firm from some of the risk.

One of the key takeaways from this podcast is the focus on what Guy describes as Ellisons' '4 C's; "look after your clients, colleagues, competencies and cash" he says.

Simples. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

There is an opportunity for a change in the way conveyancers offer their services as a result of the introduction of the Material Information Guidance, suggests Head of the National Trading Standards Estate and Lettings Agents Team (NTSELAT), James Munro. 

Speaking to podcast host David Opie, Munro says there is a "great opportunity for the conveyancing profession to get involved in a transaction at an earlier stage" and collaborate with estate agents to collaborate to create a "limited service" for home movers and estate agents to help them comply with the detail of the new guidance. 

The Material Information Guidance has now been released in full by  (NTSELAT) in conjunction with a steering group to provide clearer guidance on compliance with the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs). In the podcast Munro explains the origins of the guidance lies in the challenge presented by the overarching CPRs which superseded the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 and, most importantly for the property industry, the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (PMA’s). Critically, reminds Munro, the regulations apply both at the outset, during and at completion of the sale. 

The discussion explores the detail and requirements outlined in Part A, B & C and the implications for home movers, estate agents and conveyancers; and suggests that a "limited service" might help interpret any issues with the property that arise, and disclose that information in such a way that estate agents can provide clearer details on property listings, and home movers are better informed of potential pitfalls earlier in their decision making process. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Conveyancing nirvana might be the perfect contract pack says Rob Gurney, Managing Director of Ochresoft in the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast. Rob discusses how the desire for speed has created a rod for our own backs when it comes to transaction timelines.

There is this onus on getting the contract out to the other side as quickly as possible, without all the information a conveyancer knows we need to supply.  All that means is that contract packs go out with very little information on - which inevitably comes back to the vendor's lawyer as additional enquiries.

If we can gather all the information the buyer's lawyer is going to ask for, before they've even asked for it, we can reduce or eradicate the additional enquires process; that's conveyancing nirvana says Rob.

Rob also talks about up front information and the current challenges in actually being proactive with the information collated if the vendor's lawyer isn't instructed at the point of listing. This is where some of the work Ochresoft has been doing comes in; their Up Front Information (UFI) workflow. The ability to analyse UFI automates the production of a Key Facts document for estate agents to enable them to comply with  National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agent Team's Material Information requirements, including the recently published parts B&C (although the podcast was recorded before the exact details of Parts B&C were confirmed).

The overriding sentiment in the discussion is that collecting data is only one part of the process for change; there must be a shift in mindset to bring the conveyancer into the transaction at an earlier stage, to enable the initial investigation work to be done, interpreting the information collected and deliver a better quality contract pack at the outset.

As the famous saying goes, more haste, less speed.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Steven Hill, Managing Director at Case Management System provider Denovo BI joins Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie to discuss technology, case management, and the challenge of working across Scottish and English jurisdictions.

Steven talks about his history with the business  over 18 years and his recent promotion to the role of Managing Director. Denovo BI started out life as an accounts system catering for England & Wales, and Scottish legal systems. In their development since, and as they have introduced case and matter management into their portfolio, they have retained this cross-jurisdictional  compatibility. 

Steven explains the challenges from a technology and workflow point of view presented by the front-end conveyancing process in Scotland, where much more of the legal process is captured at the start of the transaction, and the "last-minute" process in England and Wales 

The conversation moves onto the changing legal landscape which for Steven has shifted dramatically since he joined the business. Case and matter management should be a single source of truth, he says, and is an advocate of helping clients better educate their staff on the features and benefits of the software so that adoption is encouraged. 

He discusses his thoughts on how we can get better adoption; showing staff how to get documents in and out of the systems, making it easy for users to make the most of the technology and ultimately ensure that clients are integrated into the process.

He goes on to talk about the range of technology providing discrete services and the importance of interconnectivity and interoperability and the role case management plays in ensuring that they are able to integrate with best of breed third parties.  But comes back to the importance of internal education, otherwise the firm simply doesn't see the full benefit of their investment. 

An interesting insight into the direction of travel for case and matter management from an expert in the field. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently requested law firms complete an anti-money laundering and sanctions data collection exercise. The SRA is required by Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) to take a risk-based approach to supervision and is requesting firms complete the requested information as full as possible. 

It will, they say enable them to "see the distribution of risk across the legal profession, which in turn informs our programme of inspections and our guidance."

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast welcomes Gavin Ball of HiveRisk to tackle the tricky topic of what firms need to be thinking about when it comes to completing the information, and wider considerations when it comes to firms' anti-money laundering policies, processes and procedures. 

In 2024 alone law firms have been fine £200,000 directly relating to failures in their anti-money laundering and sanctions processes. 

Gavin goes on to discuss the areas he sees firms failing on as a compliance specialist. He talks technology and how it can help firms with their compliance obligations but warns the key is understanding what the information is telling you... in their audits the SRA will challenge firms and staff to interpret reports provided through technology and how to interpret its content. 

Gavin also discusses politically exposed persons (PEPs), sanctions, and how to deal with reporting suspicious activity (SARs) to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in this informative and insightful podcast.  

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

This week the Today's Conveyancer Podcast welcomes Rachel Griffiths Head of External Operations and Panel Management at SDL Surveyors. SDL Surveyors are one of the largest independent providers of mortgage valuations with over 200,000 cases per year. They also provide private home surveys directly on behalf of consumers and the topic of discussion in this latest podcast the perennial issue of helping home movers understand the critical differences between valuation surveys for lending purposes, and home moving surveys to identify structural or other defects with property. 

Rachel explains that the language of home moving is unhelpful; "survey" "valuer" "valuation" all have different meanings for different parts of the process. She points to stats from 2021 which show that only 3 in 10 home movers instruct their own surveys, and reminds us that the pressure on speed and the development of desktop valuation surveys means that fewer houses are now physically inspected as part of the valuation; around 40-50% currently with that number anticipated to rise to 60-70%. 

All of which adds up to fewer expert eyeballs on a property before a home buyer moves in. And with stats suggesting that home movers are spending an average of £5,000 to make their property fit for purpose upon moving in (nearly 1 in 5 home movers spend £15,000 or more) should more be done to alert home movers to costs that could, and should, have been renegotiated during the sale. 
 
Do lenders, estate agents and conveyancers have a greater responsibility to their clients to alert them of this and flag the importance of home buying surveys? Should they be mandated? What impact does the newly implemented "Consumer Duty" requirements on FCA regulated entities like mortgage brokers have?  And with the increasing pressure on conveyancers to understand and report on issues like climate change, should surveyors be a more integral part of the home buying process? 

Rachel shares her own tips and best practice from her experience in in this interesting and topical podcast. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

John Reynolds, Chief Operating Officer at Coadjute joins host David Opie on the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss the future of the conveyancing market, and what "digitisation" means to Coadjute.

John identifies 5 elements to a digital property market

• Digital identity
• Digital signature
• Digital form of the title
• Digital form of the contract
• Digital exchange

We are moving from a physical world of lawyers offices, money, contracts and titles, to a digitised version of these; and in order to facilitate this there needs to be market infrastructure to enable this. 

The risk posed by moving into a digital world is security; security of identity, data, money and more. And without the ability to trust in the existing processes, we have, says John, this constant revalidation and rechecking of data.

Challenged around what appears to be a limited amount of joined up thinking amongst technology providers, John points to the importance of agreeing common standards and formats for data as it is passed around the transaction stakeholders. Data standards are an industry building block, to help facilitate what digitisation hopes to achieves. 

John also addresses the work Coadjute have done with their recently launched Digital Property Data Pack and how that fits into the current technology available to conveyancers. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The Today's Conveyancer Podcast welcomes Adrian Jaggard, a Director of Taylor Rose MW and AIIC Holdings, the parent of Taylor Rose MW, FDR Law and Sloth Move, amongst other investments in legal services and technology. 

The discussion centres on the growth of their consultant model of employment which, since launching in 2014, has grown to become one of the largest employers of consultant lawyers in England and Wales. Indeed, AIIC was listed as the fastest growing legal and accounting services group in the UK in the Financial Times in March 2023. 

Adrian himself is a qualified solicitor, and previously ran a successful costs business before founding Taylor Rose with his brother, Antony in 2009. The conversation explores the early days of the consultancy business and how the opportunity came about; and moves on to the drivers for people who embrace the model. cultures, COVID, partnership and career progression and more. 

Adrian is frank about the realities of the model and acknowledges that they have become much better at understanding the types of individuals who thrive in a consultant role, and have improved their supervision structures around them.. They have also worked hard to foster relationships between consultants, and between consultants and those directly employed by Taylor Rose MW. And yes, they do indeed reject applications and terminate consultant arrangements for a variety of reasons. 

The discussion ends with Adrian outlining the opportunity presented by a joint venture with an Australian law firm which has seen the launch of the consultancy business in Australia... which has brought it's own legal, and logistical, challenges! 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In this shortened special edition of the Today's Conveyancer podcast host David Opie is joined by Ochresoft MD Rob Gurney and Landmark Estate Agency Services MD Ben Robinson to discuss the latest Landmark Property Trends Report released recently. 

The quarterly report looks at 4 key stats drawn from a number of sources including HMLR and Landmark's own data, to consider the current state of demand (listings), instructions (Sold Subject to Contract), search volumes (Searches ordered) and completions. 

In this short discussion Rob and Ben discuss the results of the latest report which considers July, August and September's data, and what it means for the rest of 2023 and into 2024. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Enquiries are the topic of discussion for this latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast. The bane of most conveyancer's existence, there has been much discussion about the volume, and what might be considered triviality, of enquiries raised on property transitions. 

To discuss the issue host David Opie is joined by Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership, a conveyancing firm based in Guildford which completes around 200-300 transactions per month.

The Partnership have seen a 35% increase in the volume of enquiries this year alone, and Peter says there is no doubt that dealing with enquiries is the single largest element of the transaction his lawyers are spending the most time on. 

And without pulling any punches Peter's view is that the situation is only getting worse with increasing numbers of "poor quality enquiries" which he attributes to

• a lack of training
• a fear of the risk posed by not asking the question
• lack of understanding of where the risk is

When probed on the final point Peter points to the source of claims for PI Insurers which include enquiries that are not being passed on from clients; "clients ask questions and we don't answer it at all, or we don't get a satisfactory answer" says Peter.  He also offers a second consideration which is that conveyancers are not asking the right enquiries in the first place

"If a claim is brought against the firm, the first thing that should be done is to review the enquiries; and there often isn't enough transparency around enquiries. They've been raised in emails, or over the phone... in other words not in a structured way. There needs to be a clear audit trail." 

Tracking enquiries is difficult and there is a risk of accusations of dumbing down the law and undermining expertise when people start to talk about mandating enquiries, or templating enquiries. With the launch of a new product called Legalito, Peter is trying to create greater collaboration between conveyancing firms, and better manage the process of enquiries to reduce risk and deliver a better client service.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast welcomes on Kevin Johnson and Jeremy Dorkins to discuss their latest venture as founders of On Point Data, a new search company launched in 2023. 

Following significant consolidation of the search market over the past 5 years we are starting to see new ventures enter the fray again. On Point Data is one such example, with Kevin and Jeremy both explaining their desire to provide a client-focused service with "personal attention, and people with experience and knowledge to add value to the relationship."

One of the biggest challenges with searches is their ubiquity; essentially conveyancers can acquire similar or the same searches from different suppliers. So how do you differentiate yourself in such a market?

For Kevin it's about being an extension of the firm; a trusted advisor or part of the back-office team. Helping firms to de-risk transactions by ensuring they have the right processes, identifying the best in class reports and protecting PI. Jeremy points to the freedom many fee earners have to choose their search provider as a risk as different processes can leave firms exposed. 
 
One of the other challenges in 2023 is fitting into an increasingly complicated conveyancing technology eco-system; a challenge both are aware of and are keen to maintain an open dialogue with other organisations and work together to collaborate and ultimately provide conveyancers with what they want and needs; whether that's packets of data imported directly into case management systems to enable to creation of more up front information and analysis; or traditional pdf search reports. 
 
In an enlightening discussion on the future of the search industry, Jeremy and Kevin are honest and forthright and share their views and ambitions for On Point Data and the wider property market. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Running a busy conveyancing firm has its ups and down and you might have forgiven the latest guest on the Today's Conveyancer podcast if he had packed his bags and walked away when he sold his stake in his law firm in 2019 12 years after he set it up in 2007.

But Simon Thomas returned in May 2021 to set up Montpellier Legal, a conveyancing focused practice in Cheltenham, with the opportunity to do all the things he migth ave got wrong the first time, right this time.

"I missed the thrill, the variety and  and the rush and tumble of conveyancing" he says in a refreshingly honest and open discussion about what it takes to run a conveyancing practice in 2023.

The discussion explores standards (and fostering a desire for continuous professional development), culture, fees, recruitment, technology, sourcing work, regulation, marketing and profit.

On technology Simon says: "a lot of firms make the mistake that technology will do the job for them, and maybe in the future it will, but for the next 2-5 years there is still a a place for quality lawyers handling clients and being very much available for them; there's always the need for the human element."

On culture her adds: "Culture is really important it's about the little things. We have to be thinking about the human touches that we would do in our own personal lives"

On fees: "Our fees are mid-level fees. We believe we're providing a strong value proposition. We stand by our reputation and are proud of our reviews which are there for people to see."

The discussion finishes with Simon's thoughts on the current state of the property market and also addresses his concerns about different regulatory approaches currently in place which create an opportunity for some firms to jointly represent buyers and seller, and others not to.

Simon provides some insight into the inner workings of a conveyancing practice without giving away too many trade secrets!

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast welcomes Simon McCrum to discuss the contents of his latest book "The Perfect Lawyer" with host David Opie.

There isn't much Simon McCrum doesn't know about running a law firm having been there, done it, and got the t-Shirt. In this discussion Simon shares a little about his background and how he came to run the fastest growing law firms in the country before its acquisition.

He now shares his experience with other law firms as a management consultant and author of 2 books, "The Perfect Legal Business" and "The Perfect Lawyer," and through the course of the discussion Simon provides some fascinating insight into what he considers he did well, and what lessons he learnt along the way; all of which he includes in his books.

He describes how he encourages firms to find and use differentiators across their business and create a culture of buy in across the firm. "The ultimate differentiator is service, but the ultimate challenge is living that" says Simon.  He encourages firms to take a long hard look at their business and ask themselves if they are truly offering a "Bentley service, for a Bentley price."

He moves on to discuss the content of "The Perfect Lawyer" in which he suggests the perfect lawyer is someone who has both pride in their own work and skills, and takes pride in, and understand their responsibilities to, the business; describing how "perfect lawyers" are nurtured by firms. 

This insightful discussion with one of the most passionate and experienced professionals we've had on the podcast is a "must listen" for law firm leaders and aspiring leaders. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today’s Conveyancer podcast welcomes Orbital Witness CEO Ed Boulle on to discuss how the explosion of technologies using artificial intelligence is being harnessed to benefit conveyancing lawyers. 

Far from technology replacing lawyers, the work being done by organisations like Orbital Witness is designed to enhance the role of the lawyer say Ed; removing large chunks of the lengthy and laborious review of documentation and instead providing succinct and simple overviews.

The technology implemented by Orbital Witness has been pointed very specifically at leasehold where it will digitise and review a leasehold title with the ambition that by speeding up the process, conveyancers will be able to better scale leasehold transaction work in a similar way to freehold. Interestingly, and a point Ed is keen to make in the discussion, the technology is backed by a wrap-around insurance.

And Ed is keen to point out that Orbital Witness has an established track record in commercial property, drawing on that experience to launch into residential and is working with a number of firms including Knights, Enact, Blacks, Wilkin Chapman and LPL to continue to refine the service.

This interesting discussion touches on the art of the possible when it comes to implementing artificial intelligence into the conveyancing process and explores how technology can help practitioners scale-up legal services.  

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Following a break for the Summer, the Today's Conveyancer Podcast returns with more insight and discussion from across the property profession.

In this latest podcast host David Opie is joined by founder and Director Olly Thornton-Berry of Thirdfort, a "Know Your Client" (KYC) "Anti-Money Laundering" (AML) and "Source of Funds" (SoF) platform. The discussion centres on the challenge presented by increasing regulation and burden on property professionals to demonstrate Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and ensure illegitimate funds and criminals are not purchasing property.

CDD and AML is the bane of most conveyancers' lives and as Olly says, is only getting harder in a more regulated world. The single biggest complaint he comes across is the view of professionals that they are now required to be forensic investigators as well as legal professionals, pointing to increasing regulatory responsibilities to verify individuals and funds.

Moreover, Outcomes-Focused Regulation has created so much ambiguity around what firms need to be compliant. "We have this risk-based approach, where firms must be doing "more," without specifying what "more" is" adds Olly.

Olly shares his thoughts on how best to interpret this risk-based approach, and how tools like Thirdfort fit into the equation. He identifies 4 key elements to CDD firms must have processes they can evidence

• Is your client who they say they are?
• Are the documents the are offering up legitimate?
• Is the money from a legitimate source?
• When the transaction completes can you be sure it's same money you have previously verified?

CDD is about identifying the needle in the haystack and he is passionate that we all need to our bit to prevent fraud and money laundering  

There is also evidence that Professional Indemnity Insurance is now having it's say with firms who are using electronic KYC and CDD solutions seeing reductions in premiums according to Olly.

This interesting discussion is a useful recap of the current requirements for law firms and a reminder of the technology solutions available which can be part  of the solution. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

A general election, interest rates, mortgage rates and the European Championships... a perfect storm of economic, political and social issues have come together to continue to strangle the property market according to the latest Landmark Property Trends Report for the second quarter of 2024.

The report tracks property listing volumes, Sold Subject to Contract (SSTC) numbers, searches ordered and completions and benchmark current numbers against 2019 data; the last time the property market was in a broadly "normal" cycle.

Podcast host David Opie is joined by Managing Director of Ochresoft Rob Gurney, and Managing Director of Landmark Estate Agency Services Ben Robinson to discuss the results of the latest report which identifies listings being 6% up on 2019, SSTC 32% down on 2019 levels, and completions some 40% down.

It all points to a disconnect between the start of the transaction, which is positive with more properties coming to market and more choice, and the end of the transaction.

"The property market is not like a waterfall flowing freely from top to bottom" says Rob Gurney. "Rather it's much more like a bottle of ketchup, needing intermittent taps to encourage progress, with a splurge of completions anticipated soon."

When exactly that will be remains up for debate.

"The Summer holidays has traditionally seen a slowdown in property activity before ramping up in the Autumn" adds Ben Robinson.

"Most of the reasons we've seen for the property market being held back seem to have been alleviated," concludes Rob Gurney.

Watch this space...

CLICK HERE to review the Landmark Property Trends Report Q2 2024

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In this shortened edition of the Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie is joined by Ben Robinson (Managing Director, Landmark Estate Agency Services) and Rob Gurney (Managing Director, Ochresoft) to discuss the latest Landmark Property Trends Report covering April, May and June 2022. 

The report considers data at 4 key stages in the transaction cycle; listings, properties sold subject to contract, search volumes, and completions; compiled using information from HM Land Registry and Landmark's own business. 

Since the Q1 report was released, economic uncertainty fuelled by inflation and significant rises in the Bank of England's interest rates has prevailed. If the statistics in April 2023 indicated there may be a turning of the tide, Q2 has brought us back down to earth with a bump, with a downward trend in completions. 

And while the front end of the transaction appears healthy, with listing volumes remaining broadly steady, there are anomalies around demand, and the flow of instructions through to completions.

Stability is the key, as both Ben and Rob explain the numbers and their own views and analysis in this latest discussion. Listen in to hear their thoughts  in full.
 
The next Property Trends Report will be published at the end of Q3 2023 when we'll revisit the topic for further discussion and analysis. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast considers the outlook for transactoin volumes and in turn conveyancers for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024. To find out host David Opie turns to Nick Chadbourne CEO at panel management business LMS. 

Recorded in June, Nick shares insight available through LMS which has extensive coverage of the market by virtue of its relationships with brokers, estate agents and conveyancers.

He discusses the conditions at the end of 2022, and the impact of "Trussonomics" which we have seen play out in the reduced transaction volumes in April and May 2023. Nick also points to the current pipeline which provides a useful indicator of transaction volumes for the remainder of 2023, given it is currently taking c. 4 months to move home. 

In addition to his market insight, Nick shares the journey that LMS are on, and one that he acknowledges has at times been painful. He discusses some of the innovation currently happening in the business and explains how that will impact on conveyancers. 

A useful update on the health of the market, this latest podcast provides  some sobering thoughts for conveyancers as they plan ahead for the remainder of 2023 and into 2024. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast host David Opie is joined by Nick Hale, CEO of ONP Group.

In a wide-ranging interview Nick discusses his introduction in to the conveyancing world since his appointment in April 2022, and the journey he and ONP Group have been on.

The opening part of the discussion explores the make up of the ONP senior leadership teams. Over the past few years, ONP have made a number of appointments both from within, and external to, the conveyancing sector.  For Nick it's the right blend of industry experience and wider skills needed to move the business forward. 

"We're very deliberate and happy that we have assembled a team who understand the sector, have a proven track record, are great people leaders, have technical knowledge, and understand the regulatory requirements; blended with people who bring skills and experience that is not prevalent in the sector, and that has held us back as a sector." Adds Nick.

Nick shares his first experiences of joining the conveyancing profession, and discusses how his work history has shaped his approach at ONP. Throughout the podcast Nick references the importance of the vision at ONP and a personal drive to genuinely make a difference in the home moving process.

Sharing a story about managing 26m emergency calls each year, all answered in an average of less than 0.4 seconds, Nick reveals his obsession for making things better;  "If you can make something better, why wouldn't you want to" he adds.

The conversation explores technology, client service, the future of conveyancing and 'that' Times article in February 2023.

Finishing the podcast, Nick and David explore the impact that external investment has had on ONP and the appetite for further private equity investment in legal services.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

If we thought branding was about logos and then we’re absolutely wrong... it's about reputation, meaning, culture, service and so much more according to Matt Davies who joins host David Opie on the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast.

Matt lives and breathes branding and his enthusiasm for the subject comes across through this discussion which provides some useful pointers on what brand is, why it is important and where do we start? 

Pulling no punches Matt challenges organisations and law firms to think about why they exist beyond making money. 

"Nobody is interested in you wanting to make money," says Matt. "You may personally be in business to make money but your brand and business and what it's trying to do in the world needs to have a  narrative and a story to position itself in such a way that is effective in its market place."

Your brand should be

1. a story or narrative that your customers find interesting and exciting
2. something that your people can buy into and rally around

"And here’s the kicker" adds Matt,  "it has to be true and it has to be authentic, because in today’s world you’ll get found out."

In his work Matt asks 4 key questions of organisations. 

• What do you exist beyond making money
• Who do we serve
• How should we show up for them
• What are we offering them

Throughout this insightful discussion Matt provides plenty of useful pointers ad tips organisations and law firms can take away and implement in their own business.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast discusses the opportunities presented by outsourcing. Joining regular host David Opie is Sophie Swanborough Operations and Marketing Manager at ntitle, an outsourced title checking solution.

There is a growing marketplace of organisations who offer outsourced and "unbundled" service into law and conveyancing. At a time when it is increasingly difficult to recruit experienced staff, being able to outsource to subject matter experts is invaluable says Sophie.

A title check for example, can be back in just a couple of days and the beauty of outsourcing is the ability to ramp volume up and down; running multiple files concurrently by combining in-house and outsourced resource.

Sophie shares her experience of how firms are using outsourced title checking with some firms are using it in every transaction while others are utilising the expertise of outsourcers for particular types of transactions.

"We see a lot of new build properties because 1) they are really lengthy, you get many, many documents with them. 2) They take up quite a lot of time, you need 2-3 hours without interruption (to really focus). We get a few leasehold title checks too because they are increasingly problematic." says Sophie. 

Ultimately though does outsourcing boil down to cost v benefit; if the cost of outsourcing outweighs the cost of hiring then it's a more effective and efficient route to go down, and vice-versa.

Sophie points to the popularity of the consultancy model as evidence that individuals and firms are looking at how they can streamline what they do.  Reducing overheads and the fixed costs of employment which typically includes recruiting, training, IT, pensions and other staff liabilities.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Planning expert Paul Addison joins the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to discuss his experiences helping conveyancers and homeowners uncover planning risk and hidden development opportunities. 

Founder and Managing Director of DevAssist, Paul shares his background as a land buyer and planner for developers and how he now brings his extensive experience to the business to educate conveyancers and home movers on  potential, and planned, development in the area; enabling would be purchasers to make a more informed decision about whether to press ahead with their transaction. 

The discussion is full of anecdotes and examples of Paul's work; from ransom strips in cul-de-sacs, to beachfront views at risk of blight by new build flats. 

As Paul says, you cannot guarantee a view... and often this is point where firms are at risk of claims, particularly when a property purchaser finds out that about a development that might blight a view, access or enjoyment of the property. 
 
"That's when people will become very emotional post-purchase and start looking to the solicitor and saying why didn't you tell me about this." And with plenty of examples of successful claims it's hard to argue against the point. 

Despite the recent scrapping of government new build targets there is an acknowledgement that we simply do not build enough homes and that the issues around planning, NIMBY-ism, greenbelt development and the associated risk to would-be home movers is not likely to go away. 

Paul suggests 80-90% of DevAssist reports identify a planning opportunity, whether hypothetical or real, of some description; with around 30% of reports identifying a guaranteed development site within 75m of the purchaser's property.

Whether or not the development impacts the decision to purchase the property is not the point, says Paul. The point is they have the interpretation of the data to make an informed decision. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Love it or loathe it, climate change appears to be here to stay following the release of guidance from The Law Society on the role of legal services in providing consumers with information. 

And it is the subject of this latest Today's Conveyancer podcast as host David Opie is joined by Groundsure CEO Dan Montagnani, Bold Legal Group CEO Rob Hailstone, and Head of Property at Dutton Gregory Paul Sams. 

Through the course of the discussion each of the contributors shares their thoughts on what the climate change guidance means for conveyancers in the absence of sector specific guidance which we await, and/or a practice note.

Alongside the discussion, Today's Conveyancer ran a survey to find out what the sentiment is amongst conveyancers around the guidance and their role in supporting home movers better understand the longer term risks brought about by climate change. There were over 100 responses to the question "what will be your approach as a firm or practitioner with regard to how you engage your clients?" revealing;

• 35% of respondents will proactively report on any climate risks identified in search reports and use tools including standard clauses to help explain the risk to clients
• 9% will report to clients on climate risk only when a risk is identified by a search report
• 18% will let the client decide on whether this is a material risk to the property transaction and evidence this to reduce risk to the practice
• 25% do not intend to report on climate change issues to clients

The issue seems to hinge on the qualification of lawyers to provide such advice to clients and both Paul and Rob acknowledge there is yet another element of scope or mission creep with the issue as responsibility for reporting on it, which should be in everyone's interests and remit, falls squarely on the conveyancer's shoulders. 

In an entertaining discussion the three discuss whether climate change is something that the conveyancing community should be pushing back on, or whether it's part of the new breed of conveyancer whose role it is to be a conduit for this sort of information and hand hold home movers much more. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The True Worth Expert Vanessa Ugatti joins host David Opie on the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast.

Vanessa works with professional services individual and organisations to help them understand their true value, and explain that better to clients to help them get paid their true worth, unapologetically.

In her work Vanessa sees individuals and organisations constantly undercharging, underestimating, discounting, over servicing; she explains how a lack of confidence in conveying value leads to firms making less money and working too hard.

She explains how there is a tendency to be fearful about charging for our work. While Vanessa doesn't give away all her secrets, during the podcast she provides some insight into her 9 Part True Worth Methodology; explaining how one of the key elements is helping people become more consciously aware of the value they're providing.

"We take for granted that we are experts," Vanessa explains. "It's easy because we've got 10-20 years experience." She suggests we need to "take charge" when it comes to pricing. "Modern lawyers have to be commercially aware which has a positive knock on effect on profitability and staff wellbeing because they're being paid fairly for the worth they do," she adds.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast looks at research conducted by telephone answering service Moneypenny into call handling by UK law firms, both from an incoming and outgoing point of view. Joining host David Opie is Bernadette  (Bernie) Bennett,  Head of Sector - Legal at Moneypenny to discuss the "Customer Communications Global Trends Report".

According to the research, telephone continues to be the number one way consumers contact law firms with 35% of respondents indicating they will make first contact by phone, followed by 25% using email. 

The research shows that typically clients will call, rather than email, when their enquiry is urgent (42%) or complicated (33%). And to exacerbate the challenge, the research identified that cold calls are up 23% over the last 12 months, and there has been 9% increase in out of hours calls year on year - meaning conveyancers have a longer to do list before they even start the day.

Despite these numbers, call handling by law firms is very hit and miss as Bernie discusses the challenges that face firms on daily basis. For many firms fee earners remain as a first point of contact for enquiries which can, says Bernie, result in interrupted productivity. How many conveyancers have told us that they spend much of their working time on the phone and answering emails.

Research conducted by Law Firm Marketing Club suggests that it is "50:50" whether call handling will leave clients "impressed or wanting;" firms might consider, suggests Bernie, implementing a strategy around how they answer the phone:

"It's critical, incoming calls don't disturb fee earners and callers receive the best experience. Bad calls result in leads being lost and reputations being damaged." 

The research suggests that 36% of recipients of bad call handling will take their business elsewhere; 34% will make a complaint; and 25% will leave a negative review

In a  thought provoking discussion Bernie shares some thoughts on how firms can implement a more effective call handling strategy and what tools are available to streamline productivity. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

In this latest Today's Conveyancer podcast host David Opie welcomes Ben Robinson and Rob Gurney on to discuss the latest Landmark Property Trends Report. 

Ben is the Managing Director of Landmark Estate Agency Services, and Rob is the Managing Director of Ochresoft; both well placed to comment on the data which provides insight into 4 key property market metrics

• Listings
• Sold Subject to Contract
• Searches Ordered
• Completions

The Property Trends Report was first published in 2021 and is now providing analysis on the health of the market each quarter. The data is drawn from Landmark's own business, extrapolated to the entire market. The report uses 2019 as the benchmark for comparison based on it being pre-COVID and the last "normal" year for the property market. 

Ben and Rob discuss the latest report, which covers Q1 2023 for England & Wales, and Scotland, and provides detailed analysis of the last 12 months of activity in the market. 

March 2023 saw the return of new listings to above 2019 volumes for the first time since before the disastrous mini-budget in October 2022. And while this is a promising sign for the market, the other metrics remain some way below 2019 levels as the full effect of "Trussonomics" has played out over the last 6 months; SSTC remains some 22% below 2019 levels, and completions nearly 30% below. 

There is cause for optimism say Ben and Rob as stability returns to the market, with listings, and confidence on the up. Listen in to hear their analysis in full. 

The next Property Trends Report will be published at the end of Q2 2023; lookout for further discussion and analysis.  

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

Movera CEO Nick Hale joins the latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast to discuss the his, and Movera's, progress since his last appearance on the podcast in July 2023.

Across its businesses Movera touch c.25% of all remortgage and sale and purchase transactions. Having been in the role for 2 years, Nick reflects on what he wishes he'd known when taking on the role, that he knows now.

He shares the objectives of Movera which is to improve the home moving experience for people, partners and clients, in a sector where none of those have been particularly well served. He describes how they have adopted a mantra of making the home moving experience "digital when it can be, and personal when it needs to be" recognising that people are at the heart of the business, and that they are one half of a legal system which has players "across the value chain."

It is clear, says Nick, change had started, and it will accelerate with the emergence of players who have the capacity and ability to make decisive change in the home moving process.

He explains how their own investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation is designed to help his team spend more time using their technical skills; and says over the past 12 months they have delivered over 500 remortgage transactions in less than 48 hours, and 1500 in less than 5 days. It is, he adds, their ambition to 'lead the market on merit' and points to their net promoter score (NPS) "high 60s early 70s."

Drawn on the criticisms levelled at volume conveyancing businesses Nick hits back at comments online and at a recent conference describing these organisations as "factory muppets."

He suggests that language is not acceptable, or professional and is indicative of a lack of understanding and respect for the larger organisations. Within his own he says they have created career pathways; introduced the Movera Academy which all staff go through and introduces learning interventions and upskilling across the business; improved their NPS scores; with a team who are committed according to their latest feedback

There is, he adds, a bigger story here, highlighting the frustration and tension in the sector. But we can use technology to release that tension. There is a growing group of people and businesses who want to make improvements to the sector.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The Today's Conveyancer podcast welcomes ex MyHomeHome CEO Doug Crawford on to the discuss his return to the conveyancing sector after 4 years away.

In this exclusive interview with Today's Conveyancer, Doug shares his thoughts on technology, people, opportunity and private equity.

Doug is back in the hotseat as CEO of Simply Conveyancing, one of a handful of private-equity backed conveyancing firms. During the discussion he reflects on his time at MyHomeMove, and what tempted him to return. 

"You know, " says Doug, "there's emotion involved in the house buying process, and this industry helps people with that so it's an industry I was always proud to be a part of.” 

In a wide-ranging discussion Doug also shares his thoughts on what has changed since he has been away, and what the future of conveyancing holds for business owners and practitioners, adding

"I don't see technology taking over from people entirely. I think people want that human interaction and that confidence that somebody who knows their stuff legally.” 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

The latest Today's Conveyancer podcast discusses the changing nature of law firm case management systems and how we can best leverage their functionality.

Joining host David Opie is Adam Bullion, General Manager of Marketing at Practice Evolve, to discuss his thoughts on the current state of legal case management, and what the future might hold.

Adam describes the variety of options open to firms in two ways; software with a service vs software as a service. In choosing their CMS provider firms should be not just be looking for the functionality but what the associated support that comes with it looks like. 

For Adam case management providers need to "step up" and be better for their clients. He points to the fact that CMS's have historically been poor at interoperability and integrating with other technologies. In a recent survey undertaken bu Practice Evolve only 5% of respondents said their technology integrations were "seamless."

The same survey identified that law firms use less than 40% of the software they have in place and identified 4 key priorities law firms want to see from their technology:

1. Improving internal systems and workflows
2. Integrating existing and new technologies
3. Greater focus on client service and experience
4. Retention of key people

By supporting users to better understand the capabilities of the technology, we can make them more productive, and ultimately improve efficiency in the business, says Adam. 

The discussion moves on to the Cloud vs on premise debate and how firms can differentiate the case management systems which Adam shares his thoughts and experience on. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

This latest Today's Conveyancer podcast welcomes Chris Harris on to discuss the current state of the conveyancing market and the challenges firms face in harnessing technology to make transactions run smoother. Familiar to many, Chris has been in and around the conveyancing profession for a number of years as a practicing solicitor and a panel manager and in 2011 he founded Lawyer Checker before selling to Dye & Durham in 2021. His latest venture is a tool to help conveyancers better deal with enquiries. 

Enquiries has been a major issue for conveyancers in recent years, with many taking to social media to highlight the practice of raising lengthy and at times unnecessary enquiries which serve to delay the transaction. Indeed, says Chris, too many times it appears that we delay the transaction more by arguing over who is going to answer the query rather than going to get the answer in the first place. There is, he says, a fundamental lack of collaboration. 

And who is driving the increase in enquiries? Is it consumers taking a more active role in their home move and asking more questions about the property (and what role does the estate agent play in answering some of those questions). Or is it conveyancers ensuring they are covering their responsibilities with one eye on PII? 

For Chris, AI and automation could be a part of the solution. We are already seeing increasingly useful tools being developed which makes sense of data which is held in a standard format and can be transmitted between firms in a uniform way. 

Chris cites examples such auto-report builders and post completion technology which take structured information and present it back to us in a helpful and usable format. 

But there are plenty of examples in conveyancing of unstructured data; words on a page without any ability to extract and process individual points.  He points specifically to enquiries where conveyancers will often receive emails raising a list of queries with no way of standardising information contained. 

This is where AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) might have a role to play in reading these emails, identifying the queries and creating task lists; in the fullness of time, these tools will be able to fulfil the enquiry. For example if a buyer's conveyancer raises an enquiry for a copy of the EPC, automation has the ability to read it, go off and search the EPC Register, and return the result without any intervention explains Chris. 

In a fascinating discussion Chris explains that we are only just scratching the surface of what AI has the ability to do in conveyancing and warns firms that unless they are embracing the technology coming down the line, they may get left behind.  

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.

On the latest Today's Conveyancer host David Opie is joined by Karen Babington to talk about her latest business venture Valafy. Karen has a wealth of experience in the property sector starting out in sales in marketing at a regional lender before moving on to work in and with law firms and panel managers (selling her own panel Easier2Move to MyHomeMove in 2010). Until recently Karen was Commercial Director at LawyerChecker before its sales to Dye & Durham in 2021.  

Valafy says it will tell conveyancing business owners what they need to know about their business and their wider external environment in order to plan ahead.

 "As a business owner" says Karen, " what do you want to know?" 

"You want to know if you're charging at the right level; you want to know how efficient you are; you want to know if you're paying your people correctly."

The business will formally launch in April 2023 with a questionnaire and subsequent report designed to provide conveyancers with "actionable business insights." 

The questionnaire is designed to drill into detail around charges and costs to help firms achieve better profit margins, and benchmark the efficiency of the business. 

The questionnaire will inform a report which sets out to provide real-time information about their external environment to enable comparisons with peers. The first report is planned to be released  in May 2023.

Once the first conveyancing report has been completed the plan, says Karen, is to look at other areas of law, and the wider business community where this data isn't readily available. 

The Today's Conveyancer podcast can be found on your preferred podcast provider and also at www.todaysconveyancer.co.uk. Subscribe and listen in for all the latest conveyancing industry news and views.

Thank you to our podcast sponsors PEXA, SmartSearch and VacantC Legal Recruitment.