About CQS Conveyancing

An observation from the trenches: Conveyancing lawyers aren’t very good as assessing risk. They tend to overinflate those that have the lesser ramification and underestimate those that pose a real threat. To be fair, they are in good company. Lots of business focus on risks that simply don’t exist or, at most, pose little threat. Does an airline pilot really need to surrender his tweezers at airport security when he's about to board an aircraft equipped with an axe on the back of the cockpit door? Can a mobile phone really cause a major explosion at a petrol station? Many a lawyer would think that the  exposure to claims results from a drafting error or  lack of knowledge.  Insurance company research,  however, shows that just one in eight claims against law firms arises from lack of legal knowledge, while one in three claims is sparked by seemingly small mistakes in ‘legal housekeeping’. One only needs to review the latest question identified on PI renewal for...

Can conveyancing be better risk managed? To a room full of lawyers, the answer to this question is so obvious that you would be forgiven for feeling silly for asking it. However, sit opposite a law firm owner and you may find that they are far more comfortable responding “no”. Yet more than that, it would likely be followed with the statement that “it’s most other firms which are in need of better risk management, not us.” Better risk management is for others. The difficulty with risk analysis conducted by solicitors for themselves is that it to be done right it requires an objective perspective; which, by definition, is an impossibility. Just as Snow White’s tormentor got the same self-sure answer when she asked “Mirror, mirror, on the wall...”, for most solicitors, it's a foregone conclusion. This surprises me because there's just so much evidence to the contrary. But, don’t just take my word for it, ask PI Insurers. Residential and commercial conveyancing wo...

Legal risk software house Lexsure  and AmTrust Europe Limited, an ‘A’ rated insurance company, have signed a groundbreaking agreement that for the first time links the use of risk mitigation software with lower expenditure on professional indemnity (PI) premiums for law firms, a move that could be worth tens of thousands of pounds for some firms. Professional indemnity premiums are a great concern for law firms, as, particularly for smaller firms, they can constitute one of the largest costs to the business aside from salaries. Furthermore, a practice that is refused PI cover can be forced to go out of business, a fate that befell some firms in England and Wales last year. Now, for the first time, law firms can evidence their lower risk profile for conveyancing transactions by using Lexsure's COMPLETIONmonitor software, an online checklist, tailor-made for conveyancers to reduce and eliminate errors and omissions. COMPLETIONmonitor has previously been recogn...

As the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has identified money laundering as one of the two biggest current risks to law firms, it’s worth reviewing how COMPLETIONmonitor’s Anti-Money Laundering Search module helps law firms spot and mitigate the risk in conveyancing transactions.  AML Search is a powerful and robust online anti-money laundering and identity verification service. With the underlying data provided by Equifax, COMPLETIONmonitor have access to a range comprehensive and in-depth information that gives law firms an effective tool to tackle the threats presented by money launderers and terrorist financiers. The risk itself is not new, but the “the techniques used and the context in which it takes place are constantly changing and becoming ever more sophisticated”, according to the regulator. That’s why the SRA has made a priority risk of money laundering stemming from inadequate systems and controls over the transfer of money.  In short, COMPLETION...