Property

A leading tax law chambers has failed to convince a tribunal that rooms occupied by barristers are individual properties for the purposes of business rates.

The High Court has refused 14 search providers permission to appeal a ruling dismissing an overcharging claim against the nine English water companies.

A former conveyancer has raised almost £850,000 for a new onboarding tool, including a grant of £292,000 from Innovate UK, which went live in July.

Artificial intelligence is being developed for “triage and work allocation” in law firms and particularly for conveyancing, a director of the SRA has said.

FDR Law, a general practice bought by Taylor Rose in 2021, has been relaunched as a specialist property law firm for self-employed consultants.

Licensed conveyancers will be encouraged by their regulator to move away from the risks of client account as it becomes more practical, an industry roundtable has heard.

The SRA is to examine how family law and landlord and tenant law specialists maintain their competence amid increasing reports about their practices.

The High Court has overturned a master’s decision to strike out a claim against a London law firm because of a release clause in a previous settlement involving its clients.

Estate agents forcing buyers to use their preferred lawyers, or at least charge more if they do not, has come under the spotlight thanks to TV personalities Martin Lewis and Kirstie Allsopp.

The Law Society “must become much more responsive to its members working at the coalface of legal services”, the head of the Property Lawyers Action Group has said.