Property
Legal market to grow “in all areas” as PE extends reach
The legal services market will grow across all practice areas in 2026 for the first time since Covid, researchers have predicte, while a growing private equity presence is “a continuing theme”.
Treasury urged to exempt conveyancers from tax adviser registration
The government has been urged to reconsider plans to make conveyancers register individually with HM Revenue & Customs as tax advisers because they deal with SDLT.
Head of property certified ID documents without seeing them
The head of commercial property at a law firm who certified a client’s ID documents as true and complete copies without seeing the originals has been struck off.
Tribunal fines solicitor for source of funds and lender failures
A solicitor has been fined £7,500 for failing to carry out source of funds checks and keep lenders properly updated about where purchase money was coming from.
Property Ombudsman fires warning over conditional selling
The Property Ombudsman has told home buyers to stand up for themselves in the face of estate agency pressure to use a preferred conveyancer or other service provider.
Paralegal banned for dishonest emails as supervisor cleared
A paralegal who lied to solicitors in one email and to a client’s relative in another has been banned – but the solicitor who supervised her exonerated.
Majority of conveyancers do not want binding sale contracts
Seven out of 10 conveyancing solicitors do not want the government to introduce mandatory binding contracts for offers to buy homes, research has found.
Exodus of conveyancers “will make transaction times even longer”
Transaction times will get “longer and longer” regardless of “how many new houses you build” because of the number of conveyancers leaving the market, MPs were told this week.
Call to tackle low-cost conveyancing as part of home-buying reform
Stronger regulation of the “high-volume, low-value conveyancing sector”, as well as a review of fee structures, is needed as part of home-buying reform, the government has been told.
Suspended suspension for “manifestly incompetent” solicitor
A “manifestly incompetent” solicitor who facilitated one fraudulent and three potentially fraudulent property transactions has been given a suspended suspension.
Blog
The UK’s global leadership in lawtech is at risk if women are left behind
Tech has the equivalent of an old boy’s network. That makes it harder for women to break in. It also makes it harder when it comes to networking, finding backers and ultimately clients.
How legal judgement is shifting in in-house practice
Across UK organisations, legal teams are now involved earlier in decision-making, often before proposals have taken a settled shape.
AI in family law – drawing the line for clients and lawyers
AI is becoming increasingly intertwined with family law. Clients are using it to draft initial enquiries, prepare statements and, in some cases, to support themselves as litigants in person.
