Making Conveyancing Greener

A Collaborative Approach is the backbone of making legal services greener 

The entirety of our approach is one of collaboration. This is not a universal approach. 

We set out to seek common ground with all the participants. The aim is to seek a sensible systematic approach where everybody is properly representing their own clients’ interest but at the same time acting in a way that reduces friction and maximises the overall experience for the participants especially the consumer. This involves agreeing processes, endeavouring to have resolution mechanisms where there are issues, to agree paperwork beforehand and to avoid the "blame game". 

We have for many years reached out to legal firms seeking to share common data and agreed processes. This is something of a Sisyphean task but with some we have made headway. But ultimately relationships are defined by the parties with the power which is why mega-regulation has become inevitable. It is not unreasonable for the major party to want to insist on a process and methodology. But if that process is unfair or unwieldy then it will create friction which is the enemy of collaboration. In an effort to restrain the use of power in the marketplace this has just created extreme power in the hands of the state. 

Because we deal with repetitive transactions over a wide variety of areas, seeking collaboration is hardwired into our DNA. The frustration is that too often other parties, while stating that they wish to be collaborative, tend not to be. 

The successes and failures of working with others means that we offer a prescription for success in such matters. 

• Working with others relies upon collaborative efforts. It means that the normal "one-upmanship" that is so prevalent amongst lawyers is not appropriate. 
• Most of all it requires empathy and understanding the position both of other professionals and both sets of clients. If a problem can be forestalled, then everybody wins. 

The following matrix defines the necessary interaction: - 

The ideas here drive the creation of a spiritual backbone to shared communications in legal transactions. But how do you achieve this “win-win” situation? 

Virtually all legal processes can be reduced to their component parts. Some of those component parts will be ready to be systemised to allow easy interaction. Others will be complex but rarely engaged and they would be looked at far more traditionally. 

Each engagement that will involve repeating transaction types requires this distillation into its essential parts. Those individual elements need to be attributed characteristics that allow the interactions to be constructed. What role will IT or shared data adopt? How will the issues be conveyed to the end user – the consumer. How can other stakeholders be kept in the loop without additional effort? 

At its most optimal, applying these principles allows the “Lego®” bricks to be selected and arranged allowing much of the transaction to flow so much more easily. This allows time to be spent on great customer service and concentration of the legalities that matter to the client and not so much on administration and box-ticking. 

It is a “state of mind” or “ethos” that matters. Traditional solicitors do not think this way.  If matters could be organised so simply, then more people would be doing it. The key is in the  the creation of SMART documents and annotated material. That preparation, together with the type of responsive approach that outlined in this note, will enormously reduce the legal friction. 

Of course, something does not come from nothing. This approach requires organisation, project management and extra time creating the SMART documents. One should break down any legal arrangement into three “sieves”: 

By using this matrix, all circumstances can be broken down into defined and viable elements. As with everything in life there are times that part of the matrix might need external advice. Part of being a solicitor is recognising when to seek expertise on unusual issues. 

This article is an insight into changing the way we approach property transactions. For the moment it remains pretty Victorian but with email. We are trying to change that.