'Talk to the Lawyers'

In this Conveyancing Matters chat, Lorraine and Stu talk to Stephen Larcombe, solicitor, who was instrumental in setting up the Property Lawyers Alliance (PLA)

Stephen talks about the PLA's current campaign lobbying government against the crippling burden of Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulation imposed on property firms; pointing out that there are about 1500 pages of AML regulations and documents 

Stephen says 'It has almost become masochistic. The key point is that there are virtually zero cases enforced by the SRA for actual money laundering by solicitors'

Few property lawyers can argue with one of Stephen's key points - that regulators, government and anyone wanting to make change to the conveyancing process should consult the people who know what they are doing - 'talk to the lawyers'

What is your view? Has the AML burden on property lawyers become too much?

In this week’s Conveyancing Matters chat, Stu and Lorraine talk to Cash Bishop, a young UK qualified lawyer who has taken the plunge and gone to work in Dubai

Cash is now a senior licensed conveyancer at Dacha Real Estate, based in Dubai. He talks about how different the conveyancing system is in Dubai and that he has no regrets in taking the plunge! 

It is interesting how swiftly the transactions can go through – Cash points out that the attitude of the lenders is key – ‘all the banks do things differently.’ The mortgage must be cleared before the Dubai transaction progresses, so once Cash is involved, there is little to hold up the transaction 

Maybe UK based banks could take a leaf out of their Dubai counterpart’s books – what do you think?

In this Conveyancing Matters chat, Lorraine and Stu are joined by David Keighley

 Many conveyancers will know David as an excellent legal trainer or contributor to the Law Society's Conveyancing Handbook - but in this chat, David is talking about the fact that he is running for the Residential Conveyancing Sector seat on the Law Society's Council

 David explains that his wish is to represent coal face conveyancers at the highest level in the Law Society - this is undoubtedly a voice that needs to be heard and Lorraine and Stu wish him all the best

 Solicitors should listen to the chat to find out how to vote!

In this Conveyancing Matters chat, Lorraine and Stu talk about the unexpected withdrawal by National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team of the Material Information guidance relating to property listings 

Where does this leave estate agents and conveyancers?

And what of the Law Society's Property Information Form updates?  Edition 6 is expected later this year - confusion reigns for CQS firms

What is your view?

This week Conveyancing Matters is delighted to welcome David Opie, Managing Director of the Today's Media group which, of course, includes the popular 'Today's Conveyancer' publication

 Stu and Lorraine talk to David about the success in recent years of the British Conveyancing Awards (and the recent award won by PCS Legal!) and how David acquired the Today's Media group in 2021 and how the titles have developed since then

 David talks about the importance of social media and PR for lawyers and their firms and also shares valuable insights on how to ensure your PR is effective 

The Conveyancing Matters Spring 2025 chat is here!

Lorraine and Stu remind conveyancers that they can come along to a drinks evening in London on 15 May - just as recognition for the immense work that conveyancers have put in over recent months. No payment needed - but places are limited, so email Lorraine if you would like to get on the list - [email protected]

Lorraine and Stu give an update on a wide range of issues affecting conveyancers including: the continuing saga of the Property Information Form, Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, client money and EWS1 concerns, to name but a few.

Have you encountered an EWS1 signed by Adam Kiziak / Tri Fire? What steps did you take?

In this Conveyancing Matters chat, Lorraine is delighted to catch up with Ewan Treadgold from Tees Law 

Ewan has now qualified as a solicitor but he took the long route via Cilex and then the Solicitors Qualification Examination (SQE)

Ewan talks frankly about his journey and gives some important insights into the SQE exams and how he prepared for these challenging assessments

Ewan and Lorraine share study tips and how to approach the multiple choice and skills exams that comprise the SQE

We hope that everyone thinking of doing the SQE or already enrolled will find the chat interesting and insightful

With the government announcement on 9 February of a 12-week project aiming to move forward with digitisation of the home buying and selling process, a Conveyancing Matters chat with Mike Harlow could not be more timely!

 Mike is the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Customer and Strategy at HM Land Registry and joins Stu and Lorraine for a wide-ranging chat. Stuart jumps in at the deep end by asking Mike about the industrial action by HM Land Registry staff that is currently taking place and Lorraine asks Mike why a straightforward registration can take 12 weeks to process. Mike is honest in his appraisal but also reminds conveyancing firms that they must ‘play fair’ when applying to speed up a registration application.

 The conversation moved on to other areas of significance to conveyancing lawyers and everyone involved with the property market, including digitisation, the increased use of technology in the property market and where liability lies in the event of hacking. As Lorraine said: ‘The L word – liability – is the key for a lot of people.’

 What is your view of digitisation? Will the government’s vision of ‘opening up key property information’ and moving forward with digital identity services really ‘slash transaction times’? 

Remember, this is just a chat and our opinions, not advice!

In this Conveyancing Matters chat, Stu and Lorraine talk to property solicitor, Colin McWilliams

Colin has gained a name for himself by becoming the deputy of the Property Lawyers Alliance (PLA)

The PLA is a non-profit, conveyancing organization which is a community for conveyancers as well as having a political arm 

Colin regularly puts his head above the parapet to comment on matters of importance to the conveyancing profession on social media

The PLA led the drive for the vote of no confidence in the Law Society in 2024 following the publication of the Property Information Form 5th edition

Lorraine and Stu have a wide ranging chat with Colin - noting that he said:  'I credit Material Information with radicalizing me!'

Remember, this is just a chat and our opinions, not advice!

www.conveyancing-matters.co.uk

Lorraine and Stu start 2025 with a topic that will not go away - leasehold!

 The government has said that it intends to push on with leasehold reform and wants to make commonhold the 'default'

 But how easy will this be? 

 In this Conveyancing Matters chat, Lorraine and Stu talk about some of the problems that the property market and conveyancers might face if leasehold changes are rushed through

 They also talk about the unhelpful language that is being used - is it appropriate for a government minister to refer to 'fleecehold'?