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21 May 2021 / Veronica Cowan
Issue: 7933 / Categories: Features , Profession , Conveyancing , Property , Technology
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A bright future for conveyancing

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Advances in technology, spurred on by the challenges of the pandemic & remote working, mean electronic conveyancing has come into its own, as Veronica Cowan reports
  • Electronic conveyancing can bring the added benefits of speed and improved customer service.
  • Legal technology solutions are essential to business continuity.

For many professional conveyancing lawyers, the pandemic has sharpened their focus on the benefits and challenges of electronic conveyancing and encouraged them to adopt a more digitised approach to progressing property transactions. There has been a rapid shift from manual to digital ID checks, accelerated by the social restrictions of the past year, explains Olly Thornton-Berry, co-founder and managing director of anti-fraud experts Thirdfort.

‘At the same time, law firms transitioning to remote working, social distancing restrictions and a turbulent economy have created a perfect storm for identity fraud. Demand has been driven by necessity and huge growth has occurred in the use of digital solutions like automated anti-money-laundering checks and ID verification, which tools are backed by regulators, government

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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