Law Society's online Conveyancing Portal - the debate

What is the new Portal?

In line with the Conveyancing Quality Scheme 2010, the Law Society has recently sought to improve the methods by which the industry is regulated.  Considered a high risk area of practice in respect to fraud, there has been a growing need to find the nexus of communication, efficiency, security, and quality.  Given the monumental integration of technology into most of our daily lives it made sense to modernize the way in which Lawyers, Conveyancers, Lenders and Estate Agents etc. interact and conduct business.  Therefore, the purpose of a new Portal is two-fold; to improve the quality of service with reduced overheads and to provide a comprehensive and all-encompassing system in which professional improprieties are prevented.  The new Portal would thereby provide a ‘virtual office’ in which all parties have access to the transaction consequently allowing for the free exchange of information and transparency. 

Benefits?

Following the CQS, part of what motivates this move is to create a database of professionals who are recognized by the Law Society as representing a Standard of Quality.  This give and take approach benefits the industry equally in that clients will be attracted to an established quality assurance as opposed to reputation and marketing alone.  While other forms of this do exist, one from the Law Society coupled with benefits of an open platform, achieves more repute in conjunction with business efficiency.  The online resource is meant to save time as you will spend less of it calling the relevant people involved.

How?

The service will be offered through either a mobile or tablet by which clients may access a virtual area where you can see the status of documents, processes and communications etc.  Imagine sitting in the office at any given time and being able to see what is going on with the deal?  This eliminates great expense, wasted time and confusion.  It is difficult to be disorganised when it’s all there - imagine no more lost paperwork!  There are controls that will mediate the privacy of transactions since security is one of the biggest concerns.  Tying in with issues of fraud, making sure the service is both safe and able to monitor transactions is vital. If successful, the Portal will track everything and could provide warnings or simply point you to something you overlooked in an effort to stem administrative failings that would be audited.  This way users are compelled to follow the guidelines and maintain a stronger perception of uniqueness, quality and security. Lastly, there is an additional benefit of protecting yourself from fraud such as; fake practices, cloning firms and infiltration of organized crime through the CQS and vetting process.

Issues?

It all looks too good to be true doesn’t it?  Well it is and it isn’t.  With any large project implemented outside of a business, the hurdles of bureaucracy and function are always a consideration.  In trying to accomplish this much, it’s daunting enough to provide a regulatory function, but you’re also asking professionals to change the way they do business.  Although some educated guesses could be made about the viability of the project, no one knows if it will work until the aftermath.  Early technical issues could hamper the Portal to a point of no return, as such the Law Society will have to be comprehensive with the rollout – firms are unlikely to be patient if it costs them time and money!

Another concern is how this will affect all firms; large and small, established or newly formed.  The costs are not yet clear, nor is the efficiency of the service.  Although you would save money in the long-term, the transition period could be tricky. One of the selling points is that the Portal will save you money on overheads. This may be true but it would do so for large firms as well.  What are the potential consequences?  An industry already driven by the lowest quoted rates, large firms will be able to be competitive compared to small groups of Conveyancers starting out.  The latter simply does not have the marketing and purchasing power of the established firms. Conversely, the lower initial cost to start up a more online focused firm could provide new firms with a way into the industry.  It could further change the very nature of conducting this kind of work as face-to-face client meetings could be cut out of the equation.  While financially more viable and quicker, it does not always mean better. However, as with many industries that have modernized their practices, there are growing pains and if done well this can launch them to new heights.   

Conclusion

The portal promises a lot and if it can deliver - the landscape of this industry will likely change.  How extensive these changes are remains to be seen, but firms should already be preparing what it could mean for their future.  Failure of such an endeavour would likely lead to a retention of the status quo, a possibility that is unlikely to sit well with the Law Society.   

Dilpreet Grewal | Recruitment Consultant | International