Conveyancers calls on government to extend furlough scheme – Legal Futures

Posted April 24th, 2020 in conveyancing, coronavirus, delay, employment, housing, news, remuneration, stamp duty by sally

‘The furlough scheme should be extended for property businesses, like conveyancers, where income required to pay staff will not be available for months after work is undertaken once lockdown is lifted, the government has been told.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 23rd April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Fine for barrister who took 15 months to pay fine – Legal Futures

‘An unregistered barrister and solicitor who took 15 months to pay a £500 fine levied by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has been reprimanded – and ordered to pay another £500.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 15th April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court rejects “fanciful” conveyancing negligence claim – Legal Futures

Posted April 7th, 2020 in conveyancing, damages, duty of care, law firms, negligence, news, roads by sally

‘The High Court has rejected a “fanciful” £600,000 conveyancing negligence claim against the law firm Gateley, based on an error admitted by the firm.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 6th April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Conveyancing: Government urges home movers to delay – Legal Futures

Posted March 27th, 2020 in conveyancing, coronavirus, delay, health, housing, news by sally

‘The government has urged home buyers and renters to delay moving to a new house if possible during the coronavirus lockdown and said there must be social distancing if they cannot.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 26th March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Conveyancing revolution to hit over next decade – Legal Futures

Posted January 28th, 2020 in conveyancing, electronic filing, news, reports by tracey

‘The role of the conveyancer is undoubtedly going to change as much of the administrative side of the role becomes automated over the coming years, a new report from the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has predicted.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 28th January 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Interpreting property contracts: Some “special” principles – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted November 26th, 2019 in contracts, conveyancing, interpretation, land registration, news by sally

‘When interpreting a property contract the applicable principles are essentially the same as those applied to any other contract. However, it is easy to overlook the fact that there remain some distinct principles of particular relevance or application to property contracts. This short paper identifies two examples.’

Full Story

Wilberforce Chambers, 13th November 2019

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

“Mixed messages” from consumers on online conveyancing – Legal Futures

Posted November 19th, 2019 in conveyancing, electronic commerce, electronic filing, news, reports by sally

‘Only 19% of home buyers use online conveyancers, despite the dominance of online searches as a way of finding property, a report has found.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 19th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitor tried to take unfair advantage of other lawyer’s error – Legal Futures

‘A solicitor discarded an undertaking he had given and tried to take advantage of a mistake made by the law firm on the other side of a conveyancing transaction, it has emerged.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 15th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Conveyancers “need not fear” home buying shake-up – Legal Futures

Posted October 30th, 2019 in conveyancing, documents, estate agents, housing, news, solicitors by sally

‘A “single source of truth” that contains all the information about a property before it goes on the market is in the works as part of plans to speed up the home buying and selling process, it has emerged.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 30th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Serious misconduct “does not mean automatic strike-off” – Legal Futures

‘A finding of serious misconduct against a solicitor does not require striking off or an immediate suspension from practice, the High Court has ruled.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 28th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Blockchain offers the law “enormous opportunities” – Legal Futures

Posted October 24th, 2019 in contracts, conveyancing, electronic commerce, legal services, news, probate by sally

‘The buzz around distributed ledger technology (DLT), including blockchain, is much more than hype and the tech will eventually transform conveyancing and probate, an academic specialising in innovation has indicated.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 24th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Developer disputes: misrepresentation and summary judgment – Practical Law: Construction Blog

‘We will all be familiar with the questions asked and answered by solicitors in the lead up to the purchase of a house. For commercial property the same process is carried out but the stakes, at least financially, can be even higher. Pre-contract correspondence between solicitors can be a fertile ground for possible misrepresentation claims if a development does not go well. The recent case of Wilson & Sharp Investments Ltd v Falmouth Property Investments Ltd raises some interesting points of law concerning misrepresentation claims, particularly between developers, and also important issues of procedure for summary judgment applications.’

Full Story

Practical Law: Construction Blog, 19th June 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Licensed conveyancers set for practising fees cut – Legal Futures

Posted May 14th, 2019 in consultations, conveyancing, fees, licensing, news, probate by sally

‘The body that regulates licensed conveyancers is looking at steep reductions in the cost of practising, arguing that “good regulation does not have to come with an onerous price tag”.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 14th May 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Land Registry successfully transfers house using blockchain – Legal Futures

Posted April 12th, 2019 in computer programs, conveyancing, internet, land registration, news by sally

‘A trial of blockchain involving the digital transfer of property ownership has been completed by HM Land Registry, but the agency has no plans to adopt the emerging technology itself any time soon.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 12th April 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Negligence in Residential Leasehold Conveyancing – Dealing with Protected Residential Tenancies – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted February 19th, 2019 in conveyancing, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, licensing, negligence, news, solicitors by sally

‘This article will look at just one of the (numerous) issues of which transactional solicitors need to be aware when dealing with residential conveyancing: protected residential tenancies. The following samples the chapter on Residential Leasehold Conveyancing in the Law Society’s latest publication: Risk & Negligence in Property Transactions edited by John de Waal QC.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 15th February 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Conveyancer who overcharged for search fees is suspended – Legal Futures

Posted December 18th, 2018 in client accounts, conveyancing, disciplinary procedures, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘A solicitor who regularly overcharged clients for search fees and transferred money from client to office account without their consent has been suspended for two years by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 18th December 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law firm sanctioned over conveyancing conflicts – Legal Futures

‘A law firm that also owns an estate agency and acted for seller, buyer and as the seller’s agent in 14 residential conveyancing transactions has been fined over the conflict of interest this generated.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 5th November 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Conveyancers liable for registration error despite mortgage fraud – Legal Futures

Posted September 14th, 2018 in conveyancing, fraud, mortgages, negligence, news, public interest by tracey

‘There is “no public interest” in allowing a negligent conveyancer to avoid liability when they did not know that their client was actually engaged in mortgage fraud, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 14th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Land Registration Act shape up could build on fraud fighting efforts and make conveyancing better for everyone – Law Commission

Posted July 24th, 2018 in bills, conveyancing, fraud, land registration, press releases by tracey

‘Property fraudsters could be stopped in their tracks by technical fixes of the law, according to the Law Commission. The independent legal body say HM Land Registry has had to fork out close to £60million in indemnity payments because of fraud over the past decade. As a result, it’s recommending measures to help prevent fraud from taking place in registered land, alongside wider technical changes to the law which will make conveyancing “faster, easier and cheaper for everyone”.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 24th July 2018

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk/

Appeal rules against seller’s solicitors in crucial Dreamvar liability case – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 16th, 2018 in compensation, conveyancing, fraud, news, sale of land, solicitors by tracey

‘Solicitors representing fraudulent property vendors should share responsibility along with those representing the duped buyers for any resulting losses, the Court of Appeal has ruled in a widely awaited decision.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 15th May 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk