Conveyancers in the UK: solicitors and CLC lawyers

What the conveyancer does

The conveyancer acts for you in the transfer of ownership: checking the seller’s title, raising questions, dealing with searches, handling the contract and the money, and registering the transfer. nidirect describes it in Northern Ireland as: “Your solicitor will carry out the legal work involved in buying.” and says the solicitor “deal[s] directly with the seller’s solicitor”.

The steps differ by nation. In Scotland, mygov.scot explains that offers and replies pass in letters between solicitors, and that the solicitor inspects the deeds to “make sure the seller actually owns the home” and to tell you about burdens (see buying a home in Scotland). In England, see buying a home in England; in Northern Ireland, buying a home in Northern Ireland. More detail in conveyancing explained, property searches and exchange and completion.

The title and where to check it

What the rule says. GOV.UK states that a legal professional handles the work, names three types (“solicitors, licensed conveyancers, chartered legal executives and CILEX practitioners”) and advises: “Check that your legal professional is regulated by the appropriate body.” It also says you can do your own conveyancing. We did not find, on an official page we read, the statute that reserves conveyancing to these professions, so we do not state it.

Nation by nation.

• England and Wales: a solicitor is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). A licensed conveyancer is regulated by the CLC, which writes that they can do “everything that a solicitor can do in a conveyancing transaction”.
• Scotland: solicitors belong to the Law Society of Scotland. Its website returned an access error (403) when we tried to read it, so we describe nothing from it and did not read its terms of use.
• Northern Ireland: solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, whose “Find a Solicitor” search lists firms by town, area of law and name.

Where to check. SRA register: “Check whether somebody is a solicitor and find where they work.” and “Check whether we regulate a law firm.” Its own warning: “it is not safe to assume the firm or person you are looking for is regulated by us” if there are no results. CLC register, by individual or practice: “Joining this register is a regulatory requirement.” Law Society of NI. For Scotland, use the Law Society of Scotland’s find-a-solicitor service. Check one professional at a time.

Terms of use.

• SRA register (legal notice): only a disclaimer, “You should take appropriate steps to verify independently the accuracy of any information contained in this register.” The SRA copyright page says: “You are welcome to copy extracts of our information for purposes of review, discussion, academic study” and “You do not need to seek our permission if you use the information fairly, although you should acknowledge the source.” But also: “We will vigorously pursue any breach of our copyright that seeks to exploit our material for commercial gain”. Neither page mentions scraping or compiling lists.
• CLC: “You are welcome to copy excerpts of our information for purposes of review, discussion, academic study” and “You do not need to seek permission for such fair use, although you should acknowledge the source where possible.” Also: “We will vigorously pursue any violation of our copyright that seeks to exploit our material for commercial gain”. Scraping and registers are not mentioned.
• Law Society of Northern Ireland: “You must not modify, copy, reproduce, republish, frame, upload to a third party, post, transmit or distribute this Content” “except as expressly provided for on the Site or expressly authorised in writing by the Law Society of Northern Ireland.” You may “download and view the Content for your personal, non-commercial use”. No clause names scraping.
• Law Society of Scotland: not read (403).

Because a directory is a commercial use of the material, Payotte copies none of these registers: the listing only sends you to the official search.

How Payotte chooses the firm

Payotte selects one firm per trade and per area, on a published grid based only on public data:

• only companies are selected, never a person: no lawyer is named;
• the title is published on the listing so that you check it yourself, at the official register, free of charge;
• the selection is never paid for;
• no firm is listed yet in the UK section;
• Payotte never queries a register in series.

Questions to ask

• Are you regulated by the SRA, the CLC, or a Law Society, and what is your registration number?
• What is the total quote, with disbursements and VAT shown separately?
• Who will handle my file, and what are the key stages and timescales?
• What happens to the fee if the purchase falls through?
• Do you act for my lender as well, and does that change anything?
• How will you tell me my money has been received?