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18 April 2013 / Sam Cherry
Issue: 7556 / Categories: Features , Property
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A tricky path

cherry

Sam Cherry advocates streamlining title investigation

The conveyancing profession has always had to walk a difficult line in carrying out its day-to-day activities in property transactions. Not only are conveyancers required to be expert in all aspects of property related law, but they have a duty of care to everyone in the transaction (or so it seems). It can easily be the case that, despite a firm’s intentions to act in their client’s best interests, under outcomes-focused regulation, they can still be held liable for issues that arise. This responsibility, coupled with increasing regulation and compliance requirements, downward pressure on fees and on-going problems with access to lender panels, makes the conveyancing landscape more than a little challenging.

How to compete

So how do conveyancers compete and protect themselves and their clients in this environment, while continuing to add value to the conveyancing process? There have been many attempts to evolve/improve the conveyancing process over the last decade with some success, but the reality remains that it still takes approximately two to three

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

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IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

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Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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