Tag: Law Society
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How will you know when you have been selected for a CQS audit?
The Law Society CQS Team holds the responsibility of making decisions regarding practice assessments, actively and reactively selecting which practices will undergo an audit. The selection process may involve random choices or be based on data indicating a need for engagement. During the annual reaccreditation application process, practices submit extensive information to the Law Society.…
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Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme Numbers Decline
The number of law firms registered on the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality (CQS) Scheme in 2023 was down 166 to 2,723. According to the various UK law societies, there were 11,226 solicitors working in residential conveyancing in October 2023, a fall of 13%, or over 1,600 solicitors, from September 2021. Over two years, there were…
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Cyber Crime Special Update to Conveyancing Ts and Cs
Following the recent cyber incident, the Law Society has issued guidance for conveyancing firms highlighting the need to prepare for such an attack before their next professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewal. One question they urge firms to consider is “do your terms of business make clear your liabilities to clients if the firm is subject…
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Are Bank of Ireland Closing the Door on Leasehold Properties?
Yesterday, Bank of Ireland became the 14th lender this year to change their minimum lease term requirements via amendments to the CML Handbook Instructions. Section 5.14.1 (What minimum unexpired lease term does the lender accept?) used to read “70 years unexpired from the date of completion of the mortgage”. This has now been changed to…
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The Law Society's 9-Month Change of Heart
“A number of rated insurers have withdrawn from this segment and the gap has been filled by unrated insurers, some of whom enter for a few years before withdrawing or, worse, becoming insolvent. This is extremely detrimental to the profession”. Des Hudson, August 2013: “The fact that an insurer is unrated does not of itself mean…
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Latest HSBC CML Handbook Change will Have Conveyancers Tied up in Knots
What should otherwise be a simple ”yes-or no” question instead stands as just the latest example of how lenders use the CML Handbook to heap more complex and onerous obligations on their conveyancing panel lawyers. But, since nothing is ever simple when it comes to CML Handbook compliance, the question “Does the lender want to…
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The Latest Battle That Seems Awfully Familiar
A battle is brewing as three lenders — Lloyds, RBS and Santander — are telling their conveyancing panel solicitors that they are required to register with the the respective bank’s panel management service via the Lender Exchange platform run by Decision First, the CML’s chosen supplier. It seems like deja’ vu of HSBC’s conveyancing panel…
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Conveyancing Issues to Prompt CML Handbook Changes in Scotland
Conveyancing issues have come out as a priority according to a recent Law Society of Scotland poll of its member solicitors. Following the “no” vote against the separate representation of borrowers and lenders in conveyancing transactions at the SGM in September 2013 a small Working Party of the Society’s Council has been established to meet…
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Conveyancing Firms Prominent on SRA List of Uninsured Firms
In an unprecedented move, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) late on Friday, published the names of 136 firms that they advise have been forced to close as a result of failing to secure professional indemnity insurance (PII). The timing appears to have been well thought out, allowing the Law Society to remove the names of…
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Is the Law Society looking to cash in on the Balva collapse?
Baron Rothschild, the 18th century British nobleman and member of the Rothschild banking family, is credited with saying, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets.” He should know. Rothschild made a fortune buying in the panic that followed the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon. On 17 June 2013, the Financial and…