Conveyancing Association urges industry to shape its future at 'Modernising Conveyancing' conference

07 October 2016

The Conveyancing Association (CA), the leading trade body for the conveyancing industry, has today urged all conveyancers, lenders, mortgage advisers and estate agents to attend its ‘Modernising Conveyancing’ conference in December in order to help develop solutions to key problems in the house purchase process.

The CA’s conference takes place on Thursday 1st December at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea, and the Association would like to see full engagement from conveyancing practitioners - particularly the top 200 firms in the UK - as well as input from others involved in the conveyancing process such as estate agents, mortgage advisers and lenders.

During the Conference, the CA will be running a number of panel sessions, many focusing on its soon-to-be published White Paper which delivers a number of solutions and suggestions on how the house purchase process can be improved for all.

Eddie Goldsmith, Chairman of The Conveyancing Association, said:

“This is really a ‘call to arms’ for the conveyancing profession and all those involved in the process. We believe we have a real opportunity to set out how we want the process to change and the benefits this can bring for all concerned, particularly consumers, who are impacted by delays and high costs which, in many cases, are simply not necessary.

“One way for us to develop the right solutions is to have real, positive engagement from not just our members but all conveyancing firms, as well as those stakeholders such as agents, advisers and lenders. The Conference gives us the opportunity to come together under one roof to discuss the future and how we progress to a process which is infinitely better than what we have at present.”

The CA Annual Conference and Dinner is headline sponsored by Infotrack, and will include a session from author, speaker and independent adviser to major professional firms, Professor Richard Susskind OBE, who will be looking at the future for legal services. Professor Susskind’s main area of expertise is the future of professional service, in particular, the way in which IT and the internet are changing the work of lawyers.

Delivering the keynote address will be the well-respected consumer champion, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, a former Member of the National Consumer Council, Vice Chair of the Financial Services Consumer Panel and Chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel. She recently tabled questions on behalf of the CA to the Government on how improvements could be made to the home buying process.

Goldsmith added:

“What we’re looking for here is evolution, not revolution. We understand that starting from scratch with the conveyancing process is not feasible however we want the Conference to act as a focal point for the industry in terms of discussion and deliberation on the practical options we have to make positive strides.

“We will be shortly publishing our White Paper outlining the CA’s views on what we’d like to see happen next, however we want to ‘open the floor’ to all stakeholders to have their say and provide input on our work.

“It’s a cliché but only by working together can we lobby for the improvements that are undoubtedly necessary – we want a 21st Century conveyancing process, not one which at times can seem like it’s stuck in the Dark Ages. Therefore, we would hope that all those with an interest in this area will come to the conference to offer their expertise and experience, and we can begin making those steps towards a much more user- and stakeholder-friendly conveyancing experience.”

The Conference is complimentary for CA members while non-members who are conveyancers, estate agents, mortgage advisers or lenders are also invited to attend both the conference and dinner by booking tickets through the CA conference website at: www.conveyancingassociation.org.uk/annual-conference

For further information on The Conveyancing Association, please visit: www.conveyancingassociation.org.uk