Today's Conveyancer Podcast

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack

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 LEAP Legal Software and InfoTrack