Today's Conveyancer Podcast

In the first epsiode of the second series of the Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie is joined by Muve CEO David Jabbari.

David was part of one of the first Alternative Business Structures (ABS) to be launched following the Legal Services Act, dubbed "Tesco Law." At the time it was feared the Act would precipitate the death of the high street lawyer as it lowered the barrier to entry for established consumer brands to enter the law and set up firms to cater for their customers.

The reality was it didn't happen, and in this podcast we explore some of the reasons why as David discusses his own experience at Parabis, who were one of the first law firms to secure private equity funding and were closely associated with Saga at the time.

David also discusses technology, innovation and unbundling; the process by which conveyancing is increasingly seen as a standalone, commoditised service. 

He also share his thoughts on the current state of the conveyancing market and offers up some predictions for what might happen in 2023 and beyond.

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

Following the publication of two previous "state of the nation" reports, CEO of tmgroup Joe Pepper joins Host David Opie to provide an exclusive preview of the initial results of their latest survey. 

David and Joe are joined by Founder of Aconveyancing  Natalie Moore for this special edition of the Today's Conveyancer podcast.

With over 800 responses, 3/4 of which are drawn from the conveyancing industry, the survey provides a finger on the pulse of the latest market sentiment, and follows 2 previous reports; "Thriving in a Pandemic" and "The New Normal."

The full report will be out in January 2023 and in this podcast Joe Pepper provides a first look at the results, with some of the standout statistics including:

• 63% of respondents said that remuneration is a big issue
• 33% of respondents said they are actively looking to leave the conveyancing  industry
• Less than 20% of firms have increased their focus on succession planning

Alongside discussing some of the initial results, Joe and Natalie share their thoughts on what firms need to be thinking about heading into 2023; particularly given the market uncertainty caused by economic and social factors.

It's not all doom and gloom and as the saying goes, "every cloud has a silver lining." Listen in to hear what opportunities 2023 might present for 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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

In this Today's Conveyancer podcast host David Opie is joined by lawyer and technology entrepreneur Vanessa Challess. 

As owner of Tiger Bytez and Tiger Law, Vanessa brings a practical view of the current state of conveyancing with strong words for conveyancers over current service levels and technology adoption. She also warns firms that technology will become a recruiting tool and that the best conveyancers will move to technology-led firms as competition for talent stiffens. 

Listen in to hear some of Vanessa's top tips for conveyancing firms including;

1. Don't allow yourself to be chased. Proactivity will save 3-4 calls and emails.
2. Think about the roles in the team. Should we have roles in the team dedicated to communications and updates, not unlike the sales progressors in an estate agent's office.
3. Technology won't replace the human touch when it comes to holding home mover's hands. We can use technology to help with the admin, but we still need change our mindset when it comes to using technology to help us smooth the flow of the transaction. 

Vanessa's own market research suggests that there is a continued culture clash between clients, who want speed of service, and conveyancers who are under pressure to deliver faster transaction times.

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

Having achieved seed investment in Move Genius, Founder Hannah Nicholson joins host David Opie to discuss the direction of travel of technology in the conveyancing space.

Creating a seamless journey for home movers, estate agents and conveyancers seems to be the holy grail, but with myriad technology solutions, how can we achieve a more joined up approach?

And are people ready to change? How are we going to move the industry forward over the next 2-5 years to really change the narrative around the relationships between home movers and estate agents, home movers and conveyancers, and estate agents and conveyancers.

For Hannah this requires "collaboration between tech solutions and a change in industry mindset."

Listen in to this latest Today's Conveyancer podcast to hear the thoughts of Hannah on the current challenges she sees in the home moving process, and what role blockchain has in creating the building block for collaboration.

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

In the latest Today's Conveyancer podcast David Opie is joined by Scott Reece. 
 
With a background in the installation of technology in medical practices, Scott (by his own admission) was somewhat of a novice when he  and his wife joined the X-Press Legal Services network in 2007 in a complete change of scenery. 
 
Their franchise survived the torrid 2008-2009 recession in tact and 15 years later now  wears two hats in the business. One is his franchisee hat where he covers the Cumbria region, the other is his role as IT Manager at X-Press Legal as a whole, supporting the franchisee network and building platforms and integrations for the benefit of clients. 

Scott’s share his own tales of the fun and games of being a search agent where digitisation is sorely needed in Local Land Charges departments; with one story where the council limits the number of search appointments to 4 a day because the Land Charges Officer has to traipse up and down 3 flights of stairs with Kalamazoo ledgers to provide the information to search agents.

Progress is being made here with 50 councils now moving over to a digitised Local Land Charges register at the time of publication. 

In his role as head of IT Scott is a proactive member of a community of compliance professionals. Digital ID checks and onboarding remain a key risk for conveyancing firms. He also discusses the role technology has to play in re-checking and refreshing data as transactions move along to ensure that material changes that could impact the transaction are reported.

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

In this podcast,  Alttaf Hussain and Valentina Dotto of Yoti join host David Opie to discuss electronic and digital signatures.

At a time when the digitisation of legal services is under scrutiny, Alttaf and Valentina discuss the various types of electronic and digital signature available and walk us through the terminology.

They also provide some guidance and user cases around when it is most appropriate, and compliant, to use them.

With cyber crime and fraud on the rise, technology providers are also under pressure to stay a step ahead of criminal organisations who seek to take advantage of weaknesses in new developments.

Beyond the compliance and technology challenges, of digital and electronic signatures have the potential to smooth the conveyancing transaction and "remove friction," ultimately improving the client experience, according to Alttaf.

Listen in to hear more thoughts on the wider adoption of digital and electronic signatures.

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

The intended centralisation of the Local Land Charges registers has been well documented; but it's not the only item on the agenda for Local Land Charge teams.

In this latest Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie is joined by Land Data Chief Executive Fiona Barron, Pat Morgan, Chair of the Local Land Charges Institute, and Nick Dyoss, Director of NLIS.

The discussion centres on the work being done in Local Land Charges departments in response to greater digitisation and how councils are supporting efforts to centralise the registers. 

By their own admission, there is a way to go; Local Land Charges have operated independently with little standardisation for many years but times are very much changing. 

Like conveyancers, LLC departments have also grappled with the impact of the pandemic, the huge rise in demand, cyber attack and recruitment as many long standing public servants have retired, taking a vast amount of knowledge with them.  

Listen in to hear the thoughts on the direction of travel for Local Land Charge departments, and their top tips for 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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

In this latest Today's Conveyancer podcast David Opie is joined by Head of Property at Dutton Gregory Solicitors Paul Sams. 

Paul is better known to so many of us as "Lego Paul"... with his regular Friday musings on social media providing an entertaining and insightful end to the week.

Known for his use of alliterative and rhyming marketing initiatives, Paul discusses his latest “Can’t move as planned? Our fees will be canned!” slogan as well as discussing his thoughts on the various challenges of being a conveyancer in 2022. 

Are conveyancers over worked and underpaid? And how do we combat that? And what does the industry need to do to address the issues around fees, moving timescales, registration delays and customer satisfaction?

With extensive experience on the front line Paul shares his insight with the Today's Conveyancer podcast audience. 

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

In this special episode of the Today's Conveyancer Podcast host David Opie discusses the ins and outs of the announcement by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to cut Stamp Duty rates in the mini-budget on Friday 23rd September. 

David is joined by conveyancing industry veteran Lloyd Davies, Managing Director of Convey Law and Chairman of The Conveyancing Foundation. 

Lloyd lends his years of experience in the industry to the discussion, providing his thoughts on the rate cuts, alongside the overall package of tax cuts, as well as considering the current state of play with the continued war in Ukraine, interest rate rises, relaxation of mortgage rules, inflation, recession and supply and demand.

Are we heading for recession? Or will the SDLT cut “over-stimulate an already stimulated market” and create further capacity issues for the property market? And what does that mean for conveyancers up and down the country? 

Listen in to hear Lloyd's thoughts.  

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

In this latest Today's Conveyancer podcast, host David Opie is joined by Emma Green, Managing Partner at Cyber Data Law Solicitors. 

A regular commentator on national radio and television, Emma is an expert on cyber crime and alongside spending her time educating firms on the perils of cyber attack, has also spent time negotiating with criminal organisations on behalf of firms who have been attacked. 

Emma lends her experience and insight to the Today's Conveyancer podcast where she discusses why the cyber risk message simply isn't getting through; We have seen a number of large legal organisations affected in just the last couple of months. 

With experience dealing with insurance providers, Emma also discusses the merits of the various online security badges and marks avaiable (Cyber Essentials etc) and how they are viewed by insurers.

She also explains how a firm's greatest risk is its people and constant diligence is required to protect ourselves from the increasingly sophisticated efforts of cyber criminals. And alongside some top "prevention is better than cure" tips, Emma shares her thoughts on what firms need to do in the immediate aftermath of a cyber attack.

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack