First digital mortgage added to Land Register as blockchain conveyancer adopts AI – Legal Futures

‘The first digital mortgage deed was entered into the Land Register today following collaboration and testing with Coventry Building Society and Enact Conveyancing.’

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Legal Futures, 5th April 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Starham v Greene King – Falcon Chambers

‘In 2014, Starham bought a piece of land on the Harrow Road. Most of the land was being used as a beer garden by the Masons Arms pub, owned by Greene King. Starham claimed this use was a trespass. Greene King claimed it was entitled to use the land as a beer garden by virtue of a right created by a conveyance dated 24 August 1855 which it said was an easement or a restrictive covenant.’

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Falcon Chambers, November 2017

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Law Society accreditation scheme advert ‘misled’ public – BBC News

Posted November 22nd, 2017 in advertising, complaints, conveyancing, law firms, Law Society, news, solicitors, standards by sally

‘The Law Society misled the public over the expertise of solicitors in a scheme set up to help property buyers and sellers in England and Wales, the advertising watchdog has ruled.’

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BBC News, 22nd November 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government floats referral fee ban and acting for both sides in bid to improve home-buying process – Legal Futures

Posted October 23rd, 2017 in consultations, conveyancing, estate agents, fees, news, sale of land, solicitors by sally

‘A ban on estate agents charging solicitors referral fees along with loosening the restriction on conveyancers acting for both seller and buyer were suggested by the government yesterday as possible reforms to improve the home-buying process.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd October 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘The Ombudsman ordered Lloyds to repay us £47,500 – and then changed its mind’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 27th, 2017 in banking, compensation, conveyancing, fraud, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘A couple who were told by the Financial Ombudsman they would be repaid more than £47,000 stolen in a conveyancing scam have now been told, more than a year later, that they will not be getting their money back.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th July 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Law firms, legal executives and licensed conveyancers join forces to lobby for leasehold reform

Posted June 21st, 2017 in conveyancing, housing, law firms, Law Society, leases, legal executives, news by sally

‘A new property law alliance, the Legal Sector Group (LSG), has written to the government, with a detailed set of proposals on leasehold reform.’

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Legal Futures, 21st June 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Socrates case stayed for quantum discussions as tribunal orders Law Society to pay up to £230,000 in costs – Legal Futures

‘The fall-out from the decision that the Law Society breached competition law looks set to last for several more months after the Competition Appeal Tribunal laid out the timetable for determining damages.’

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Legal Futures, 5th June 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Conveyancing: time to modernise & move on – New Law Journal

Posted May 30th, 2017 in case management, conveyancing, news by sally

‘Succeeding in today’s market requires expertise, investment & a touch of excellence, says Peter Ambrose.’

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New Law Journal, 26th May 2017

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Blockchain technology will be “game changer” in conveyancing – Legal Futures

‘Blockchain-backed ‘smart contracts’ will be a “game changer” in property transactions, increasing certainty for buyers and sellers as well as speeding up the house-buying process, it has been claimed.’

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Legal Futures, 26th April 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New-build ground rent scandal could spark legal battles – The Guardian

Posted November 21st, 2016 in conveyancing, negligence, news, rent, solicitors by sally

‘With thousands of homebuyers caught out by rapidly rising rents, the solicitors they used may face claims of professional negligence.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stamp duty aftershock triggers rollercoaster ride for conveyancers ahead of Brexit vote – Legal Futures

Posted August 25th, 2016 in conveyancing, news, stamp duty, taxation by sally

‘Conveyancing activity in Q2 followed a rollercoaster journey with transactions jumping by almost a quarter (24%) year-on-year – up from 230,430 to 286,425 – as completions were registered following the rush to beat the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) changes for buy-to-let properties and second homes on 1 April 2016, according to the latest edition of the Conveyancing Market Tracker from Search Acumen, the search provider.’

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Legal Futures, 25th August 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Offline conveyancers could face stamp duty penalties – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Solicitors could face penalties for not filing stamp duty returns online, under proposed government reforms to the conveyancing process.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 15th August 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Who regulates? – Competition and regulation in the legal sector – Legal Futures

Posted July 7th, 2016 in competition, consumer protection, conveyancing, legal services, news by sally

‘Regulation is put into place because markets are not perfect. Legal services are infrequent purchases for most people, so the asymmetry of knowledge and power between provider and consumer is especially marked.’

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Legal Futures, 6th July 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Fraud victims outside London have ‘little chance’ of police help – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 6th, 2016 in conveyancing, fraud, internet, London, news, police, solicitors, statistics, victims by Mark L

‘Fraud victims outside London whose cases are reported to the police have “little chance of any kind of investigation”, an authoritative study has found.’

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Daily Telegraph, 6th July 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

One in three cases of “solicitor fraud” not even looked at, police admit – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 4th, 2016 in conveyancing, fraud, news, police, solicitors, statistics by michael

‘One in three cases of conveyancing fraud – where victims lose an average of £101,000 – is not even passed on to the police for further investigation, Telegraph Money has learned.’

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd July 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Now proportionality test bites in the Competition Appeal Tribunal – Litigation Futures

‘Proportionality has hit the Competition Appeal Tribunal as it capped a defendant’s recoverable costs at £350,000, compared to its budgeted costs of £637,000.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th June 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge caps Law Society’s “disproportionate” £640k costs in defending competition claim – Legal Futures

Posted June 24th, 2016 in budgets, conveyancing, costs, Law Society, news, proportionality, quality assurance by tracey

‘The Law Society’s budgeted costs of £637,000 to defend the competition law action brought over its Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) are disproportionate and should be capped at nearly half of that, the president of the Competition Appeal Tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 24th June 2016

source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

It has a “T” mark so I own the boundary – Park Square Barristers

Posted June 2nd, 2016 in boundaries, conveyancing, land registration, news by sally

‘As most properties now have registered titles, the starting is to look to the Register for the boundary. However – this is subject to two obvious pitfalls:

1. The boundary is a “general boundary” unless it has been fixed (and few boundaries are fixed);
2. The start point was, is and will remain, the conveyance that divided the plot out – ie the first division from a larger piece. This may have been many years before – often over 100 years before.’

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Park Square Barristers, 25th May 2016

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Don’t Overlook Overeaching – Tanfield Chambers

Posted April 26th, 2016 in banking, constructive trusts, conveyancing, interest, mortgages, news by sally

‘The case of AIB Group (UK) plc v Turner [2015] EWHC 2994 (Ch), heard over a number of days in the Birmingham District Registry towards the end of 2015, is something of a puzzle.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 22nd April 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Conveyancers on both sides held liable for fraud in landmark case – Legal Futures

Posted April 19th, 2016 in breach of trust, contracts, conveyancing, fraud, money laundering, news, solicitors by sally

‘The conveyancers on both sides of a property fraud have been found jointly liable for the £470,000 loss suffered by the buyer.’

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Legal Futures, 18th April 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk