Get the right price
Robert Hailstone advises conveyancers on dealing with areas of concern such as fees and capacity
After 30 years at the ‘coalface’ of conveyancing, I moved away ten years ago. In my relatively new role as CEO of the Bold Legal Group, I now get to see and hear, at first hand, what issues cause concern to over 1,000 busy conveyancers on a day-to-day basis. The list is long, and seems to get even longer by the day. The only really good news is that work is currently plentiful.
The top eight areas of concern (in no particular order, as they say) appear to be: lenders’ panels; Land Registry delays; Conveyancing Quality Scheme reaccreditation; management companies; professional indemnity insurance premiums; frauds and scams; fees; and capacity. I am sure that I don’t need to expand on any of these issues.
What is missing is the impact, or otherwise, that alternative business structures (ABSs) have to make. That is because, so far, their impact has not yet been felt, certainly not at the grassroots level. However, in my opinion, over the next few years the existence of ABSs will begin to have an effect on those firms that do not ‘up their game’.
Looking more closely at the eight issues of concern, there is very little that individual firms can do about six of them. (That is not to say these issues can’t be tackled as part of a bigger group – they can.)
However, the two (linked) issues that can be tackled are fees and capacity. I have yet to find more than a handful of firms that believe they charge enough for the work they do and the responsibilities they carry. In addition, there are very few firms that tell me they have enough employees with the right experience to comfortably handle the amount of work they have to deal with. Surely the answer to both issues is to bite the bullet and increase fees, thus killing two birds with one stone.
I recently received this email from one of my member firms: ‘On the subject of raising fees, one advantage of using a regular locum is that they tell you if you are underquoting compared with other solicitors and conveyancers in the area. My locum told me that I was underquoting two years ago, and I have never looked back. We now raise our prices once a year to keep up.’
Therefore, I have two messages for conveyancers that will help to deal with all the issues I have listed: first, put your fees up, and second, work together as a profession.
Robert Hailstone is CEO of Bold Legal Group
@Legal_BoldGroup