Lex P Civilis Blog - A Conveyancing Revolution

(This article is from a Scottish perspective but in most parts it applies to the other parts of the UK)

Mrs Civilis has been keen to move house - something by the coast she says. I saw a survey sometime back that concluded that prospective house sellers believed that their neighbours' houses had reduced in value in the downturn but, rather miraculously, not their own. Mrs Civilis is a case in point. While gleefully proclaiming the collapse in value of her latest des res interest she fails to recall that the current Civilis abode has been equally affected - perhaps rather more since the installation of that faux art deco fireplace?

My dismissal of the latest des res and complete failure to acknowledge the aesthetic qualities of Mrs Civilis's attempts to qualify the Civilis abode for Homes & Gardens of course placed me in the domestic doo-dah. My consequently solitary evening enabled me to ponder lpc's articles The New Economic Rules and their possible extension to the world of conveyancing after the downturn.

The lpc thesis is that the property market is not going to return to "normal" - ever - and that those providing legal services are going to be placed in a vice like grip of lowered fees and technology led changes.

It seemed to me that without any change in the law, a virtual conveyancing platform could be created on which conveyancing transactions could take place. The problem for lawyers and paralegals is that conveyancing transactions are too sensitive for their clients to allow proper commoditisation and that much expensive time is spent dealing with that sensitivity - has my offer been accepted? where will the keys be? etc

The other substantial factor is the liability that the legal practice faces for making a mistake. That understandable concern means that conveyancing is dealt with on the basis that it is an interrogative process rather than a deductive process; this makes the whole service more expensive and more difficult for both legal practice and consumer.

Home Information Packs go a little way towards the deductive route but they have been hijacked by so many vested interests that the opportunity has been missed.

At its most basic, conveyancing is about the collation of certain pieces of information, the analysis of that information and a number of physical actions that follow. Such arrangements are perfect to be placed online. At this point there will be objections from those who are not entirely at home on the internet. But at some point the bullet needs to be bitten and regulators rule that having an internet connection is as important as having a clients' account. It would reduce the whole cost of the practice of law if there was an underlying communication platform - secure and easy to use for all legal practices with access to their clients on a needs be basis.

This is not blue sky stuff - the technology is widespread - and in many areas such arrangements have been imposed.

If clients want to put an offer in for a property it would be far easier and much safer for legal practices if the clients entered the details in response to an intelligent online form. How many times do clients really need advice in submitting an offer? If they do want advice then that is available online or by telephone; if they do not avail themselves of it online then there is a greater charge. This is how life works - if you get the bus, it is cheaper than a taxi. If you can place an offer virtually it is cheaper than speaking to someone.

Then there is the whole concept of written missives. Crazy! An online "missives" would be easy to achieve. You will lose the will to live if I go through most of the average conveyancing transaction and explain how it can be web-enabled so as to materially reduce expensive professional time.

I am not suggesting a reduction in fees - the market will do that - but unless legal practices can make more money from conveyancing there are problems ahead. It is the proverbial win-win situation - most of the public will be delighted that many of the mundane elements will be online as long as they can obtain "real" advice when they need it. The success of MoneySupermarket.com and its ilk show the public are happy to use this model if they obtain better value. Those in the legal fraternity (and sorority) rather underestimate the public.

I wonder if our regulators would be keen to sponsor this transition. Having experienced conveyancing systems in different parts of the world it might be that there is an export opportunity for the Scottish legal system?

Additionally if you start with conveyancing then other areas can follow. If Scotland was able to boast of an online approach to the provision of legal services, surely this would (a) be an attraction to the country as a place to do business and (b) demonstrate the legal profession leading instead of following trends.

Any thoughts?