The Partnership’s customer service has been recognised as outstanding by winning the ‘Best in Postcode’ award from the ESTAS! The ESTAS is known as the biggest award scheme in the UK property industry. Each award given is based on customer service reviews on the ESTAS platform, these reviews are completed at the end of the transaction meaning they give a highly accurate overview of the service we provide to our clients. Our Guildford office was presented with Best in Postcode for GU1 and our London office achieved the same for SE1, helping The Partnership to achieve the ESTAS ‘Standard of Exce ..read more

The previously serene waters of the conveyancing world have been experiencing a little turbulence over the last few months. There are concerns that Material Information (MI) is the thin end of a particularly fat wedge that undermines the lawyer, resulting in the end of proper conveyancing as we know it. Then there are understandable worries about how low fees are dumbing down the activity, by forcing firms to employ less experienced staff, resulting in the end of proper conveyancing as we know it. Finally, there are valid fears that insufficient steps are being taking to protect those working ..read more

When it comes to understanding and measuring risk, I’ve always said that technology beats humans every day of the week.  Machines don’t suffer from a bad night’s sleep, being lectured by a client for being too slow or face the wrath of the other side for daring to raise enquiries, resulting in rushed decisions. That said, we do know that in some ways, machines are very like humans, mostly in that they struggle to do things purely by themselves, and perform best when working with others. Which is why, even though we know that when it comes to getting clients to complete forms, whilst it’s ..read more

When it comes to insults, there’s one uttered by solicitors of a certain vintage, desperately dog-paddling to stay afloat in choppy conveyancing waters, when frustrated by other lawyers; “They just a bunch of box-tickers”. They will then sit in smug admiration, confident there’s no comeback from that bombshell. Sadly, as someone who runs a firm that has been accused of this heinous crime in the past, it’s not quite a terminal an insult as they might think. What do they actually mean? We should note that it’s not only lawyers struggling to adapt to Conveyancing2024 who use this phrase, but the ..read more

A recent post on social media really got us in the Disney mood.  But, surprisingly, it wasn’t Elsa’s bleating in Frozen that was brought to mind by someone whinging about conveyancers.  Instead, the writer was complaining about “lawyers only exchanging on a Friday”, so it was rather more Mrs Potts from Beauty and the Beast, and her singing about a “tale as old as time”. That’s because it’s an accusation that has been knocking around for years.  Unfortunately, like most things property-related, it’s a bit more complicated than merely a conspiracy theory that lawyers only exchange ..read more

I’ve never made any secret of my opinion that the core problem in conveyancing is a lack of usable data to help lawyers make better decisions.  When combined with a completely manual process of dealing with risk, this results in the almost unmanageable chaos that most property lawyers face every day. Given the increased risks we are facing, it’s more critical than ever to review how we capture and use the data within our businesses.   Conveyancing needs to embrace the concept of “Straight Through Processing” (STP) which has been in use in the financial sector for decades – data ..read more

Anyone reading this will agree that 2023 hasn’t been exactly what you’d call vintage for property lawyers.  The hangover of recent years combined with a correction in the property market has resulted in understandable negativity, which we know from history tends to lead to people looking for someone to blame. Depressingly true to historical form, this is what we’re seeing in the residential conveyancing sector.  What makes the current position slightly different is we’re now seeing that instead of estate agents being the usual pantomime villains, some lawyers are turning their ire on ..read more

As we drift towards the property world’s favourite festival, it’s worth reflecting on the changes we’ve seen since last year when buyers were demanding exchange in 3 weeks so they could be “in by Christmas”.  After all, who wouldn’t want to move in on the 23rd December so teenage children can sulk about a lack of WIFI or having Christmas dinner at the local Harvester because the “new” oven didn’t work? 2023 will not go down in history as the year of radical changes to the way that property is bought and sold.  Despite the promised crash in prices never materialising, along with the ..read more

We are pleased to announce that The Partnership has received the ‘Best Use of Technology’ award at the 2023 Modern Law Conveyancing Awards. Winners were announced at the awards ceremony held at The Rum Warehouse in Liverpool on the 16th November 2023. The Modern Law Awards which launched in 2016, in association with Modern Law Magazine, has become an annual staple in the conveyancing calendar with top innovators and achievers in the national conveyancing market being recognised and rewarded for their efforts. The new era of law brings more pressures on the traditional law firm to be more compe ..read more

The Partnership have been awarded Property Law & Conveyancing Firm of the Year 2023 – Surrey in this year’s SME News Southern Enterprise Awards! Now in it’s sixth year, the Southern Enterprise Awards offers insight into a wide range of sectors. The winners of these awards receive recognition for staying ahead of the curve with forward thinking dedication and a knack for excellent service. SME News is a quarterly digital publication aimed at those who own, run or assist in the running of small and medium-sized businesses within the UK.  SME News, by way of its digital magazine, we ..read more