Conveyancers on both sides held liable for fraud in landmark case – Legal Futures

Posted April 19th, 2016 in breach of trust, contracts, conveyancing, fraud, money laundering, news, solicitors by sally

‘The conveyancers on both sides of a property fraud have been found jointly liable for the £470,000 loss suffered by the buyer.’

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Legal Futures, 18th April 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New flood protections give rise to conveyancing fears – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 5th, 2016 in conveyancing, insurance, news, water by sally

‘New flood protections for homeowners will make the conveyancing process more complex, solicitors have been warned.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 4th April 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Strengthening the foundations of land ownership – Law Commission

Posted March 31st, 2016 in consultations, conveyancing, fraud, land registration, Law Commission, news by sally

‘The Law Commission is reviewing the legal framework that governs the registration of land in England and Wales. In a consultation opening on Thursday 31 March the Commission – the independent body that advises government on law reform – is asking how the Land Registration Act 2002 is working in practice and whether there are opportunities for the system to be clarified and updated.’

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Law Commission, 31st March 2016

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Land registration law up for review – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 31st, 2016 in consultations, conveyancing, fraud, land registration, Law Commission, news by sally

‘A new formula for determining which of two innocent parties of a land fraud should keep the property in question is among proposals for reform of the legal framework governing land registration in England and Wales to be published today.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 31st March 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Land Registry can sue conveyancers for mortgage misrepresentations, High Court rules – Legal Futures

‘The Land Registry can sue a former law firm for negligent misrepresentation in not checking whether a mortgage discharge form was genuine, the High Court has decided.’

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Legal Futures, 29th March 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Here come the new lawyers – CLC sets out plans for probate practitioners and technicians – Legal Futures

‘Plans to create three new breeds of lawyer – probate practitioners, conveyancing technicians and probate technicians – are being published today by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).’

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Legal Futures, 15 February 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Conveyancing solicitors acting for both sides must report crucial details to lenders, appeal judges rule – Legal Futures

Posted November 13th, 2015 in conveyancing, disclosure, mortgages, news, solicitors, valuation by tracey

‘Solicitors acting for both sides in property transactions are under a duty to disclose crucial details to lenders, the Court of Appeal has ruled..’

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Legal Futures, 13th November 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Professional Negligence: Let the Client Decide what matters – 36 Bedford Row Property Blog

‘The High Court has given a reminder of the important qualification to the general principle that a lawyer, or licensed conveyancer, is not obliged to undertake investigations that are not expressly or impliedly requested by the client. The principle is subject to the qualification that: if in fact a solicitor acquires information that may be of importance to a client; then it is the duty of the solicitor to bring that information to the attention of the client. It is the client who decides whether the information is important; the lawyer should not presume to make that decision. Failing to consider information, to advise the client or even pass on such information to the client can be costly. It is safer to communicate too much rather than too little.’

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36 Bedford Row Property Blog, 27th October 2015

Source: www.36property.co.uk

Blackstone’s Statutes: top legislation – OUP Blog

Posted September 28th, 2015 in conveyancing, EC law, human rights, leases, legislation, mental health, news by sally

‘With the recent publication of the 2015-2016 editions of the Blackstone’s Statutes series, we asked some of the authors to select a piece of legislation from the series that has the most impact on their subject area.’
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OUP Blog, 28th September 2015

Source: www.oupblog.com

Boundaries And The Interpretation Of Conveyances: Myths And Legends – No. 5 Chambers

Posted December 3rd, 2014 in boundaries, conveyancing, dispute resolution, evidence, interpretation, news by sally

‘The aim of this seminar is to examine a number of commonly held misconceptions about boundary interpretation – “the myths” – and to look at one or two legends along the way.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 28th November 2014

Source: www.no5.com

Compensation Fund could pay the price after High Court buy-to-let ruling – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Compensation Fund could be hit by a new wave of property claims after a High Court ruling on two test cases relating to a buy-to-let scheme.’

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Legal Futures, 7th November 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

MPs approve probate and conveyancing rights for legal executives – Legal Futures

‘The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) has won the approval of the House of Commons to grant its members rights to conduct reserved probate and conveyancing work.’

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Legal Futures, 10th September 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Appeal court sets aside £186k professional negligence claim – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A Devon firm has won an appeal against a £186,000 damages award for professional negligence following a conveyancing row with a former client.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 20th May 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court of Appeal puts law firm in the dock after being duped in mortgage fraud – Legal Futures

Posted February 25th, 2014 in appeals, conveyancing, fraud, law firms, mortgages, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a ruling which excused from liability a law firm which was duped into releasing £150,000 of mortgage funds.’

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Legal Futures, 25th February 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Professional Negligence and Purchases of Property in Joint Names – Zenith Chambers

Posted December 3rd, 2013 in cohabitation, conveyancing, negligence, news, trusts by sally

‘The purpose of this article is to consider the increasingly common situation where purchasers buy property in their joint names, subject to an express declaration of trust, and where one party has contributed significantly more towards the purchase price (or may have provided all of the funds for the purchase). The same principles apply whether the purchase is by cohabitees, family members or friends.’

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Zenith Chambers, 27th November 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Thousands of ‘right to buy’ negligence cases piling up against conveyancers – Legal Futures

‘Law firms are facing thousands of claims for professional negligence over their involvement in “right to buy” work, it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 27th November 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Is that it for ABSs? – Legal Futures

“There will be plenty of lawyers crowing over the failure of In-Deed Online. Expect a lot of ‘I told you so-ing’. It will be used as evidence that alternative business structures (ABSs) are flawed and that the much-heralded change in the legal market will prove to be a bust.”

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Legal Futures, 3rd June 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

A tricky path – New Law Journal

“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.”

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New Law Journal, 18th April 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Day and another v Day – WLR Daily

Day and another v Day [2013] EWCA Civ 280; [2013] WLR (D) 129

“For the purposes of the doctrine of rectification in the case of a voluntary settlement it was the subjective intention of the settlor that was of relevance in determining whether the court should order rectification and an outward expression or objective communication of that intention was unnecessary in such a case.”

WLR Daily, 27th March 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Changes to stamp duty land tax sub-sale rules will affect commercial transactions, said expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 12th, 2012 in bills, conveyancing, news, rent, stamp duty, tax avoidance by sally

“Changes to the stamp duty land tax (SDLT) sub-sale rules announced as part of the draft Finance Bill ‘will introduce complexity and uncertainty into commercial transactions’ said John Christian, a property tax expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-law.com.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th December 2012

Source: www.out-law.com