Property
Strike-off for partner who asked seller’s firm to backdate completion
A conveyancing partner who asked the seller’s solicitor if he could backdate completion by a day to save his client stamp duty land tax has been struck off.
City firm partner fined for unwitting role in property fraud
A property partner who failed to undertake proper anti-money laundering checks on a client involved in a “substantial fraud” has been fined £27,500.
SRA imposes control order on CILEX lawyer who misled lender client
A CILEX lawyer who misled her lender client so as to complete a residential property transaction has been made subject to a control order by the SRA.
Law firm fights off summary judgment in property fraud claim
A judge has refused a lender’s application for summary judgment against a law firm in a case involving an “imposter who appears to have fraudulently deceived” both of them.
Law firm found negligent over property development agreements
A well-known Shropshire law firm was negligent in the order agreements for a property development joint venture were signed, allowing one side to pull out, the High Court has found.
Tribunal halves law firm’s fees on HS2 house sale
A tribunal has more than halved the fees charged by a leading law firm for advice on the forced sale of a property affected by HS2.
Fine for conveyancer who acted for lenders and himself
A solicitor who acted for lenders in conveyancing transactions without telling them he was also acting for himself and family members has been fined £12,500.
Conveyancers spend nearly half their time chasing people
Conveyancers spend approaching half of their working day chasing other stakeholders or being chased by them, a report has found.
Simple errors in Land Registry applications cost conveyancers £19m
Conveyancers’ failures to get names right in applications to HM Land Registry is costing them up to £3.6m a year in fee-earner time to correct, the agency has estimated.
Many conveyancing firms “do not have clear pricing policies”
Almost half of conveyancing firms do not have pricing policies which are “clearly defined, understood, communicated and adhered to” all the time.
PEXA launches initiative to redesign conveyancing process
PEXA, the Australian conveyancing technology giant now operating in the UK, has launched an initiative in West Yorkshire to redesign the home-buying and selling process.
Woman sentenced for allowing use of account in conveyancing fraud
A woman who allowed her bank account to be used in a conveyancing fraud has been given an 18-month suspended jail sentence.
Solicitors fined £30k for letting down property clients
Two solicitors have been fined more than £30,000 between them for not considering conflicts of interest and not acting in clients’ best interests.
Solicitor fined third of annual income for breach of undertaking
A solicitor who paid out money he was holding, having given an undertaking not to do so, has been fined a third of his annual income by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Seven in 10 homeowners satisfied with their conveyancers
Seven in 10 homeowners were satisfied with their conveyancer but levels of service have deteriorated in the last five years, according to new research.
Blog
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
