We want to hear from you

Spring has most definitely sprung, and I hope you were able to enjoy something of an Easter Break, before diving into what is traditionally a very busy time for the UK housing market.

I suspect that ‘busy’ however has been the case for many firms for many, many months and this has presented a challenging period for large numbers of conveyancing firms over a lengthy timescale.

It is not always easy to give up a day out of the office/work in order to attend ‘outside’ events, but I hope as many CA member firm representatives will be able to join us for the series of meetings we are holding on Thursday 5^th May in the City of London. Many thanks to our affiliate member, Howden, for opening up their offices once again to us.

As always, we will be attempting to make that trip incredibly worthwhile, and whether you can attend our Legal Members’, All Members’, or both meetings, we believe we have a range of sessions that will educate and inform.

We’ll be, of course, providing updates on the CA’s work over the last few months, plus details on membership benefits, future events, and the like, plus there will be specific sessions and panel debates covering issues such as PI insurance, preparing for an audit, upfront information progress, amongst others.

However, what we’d most like to hear from members on is what they feel are the burning issues they are currently dealing with. Member-driven sessions are vitally important, and we know firms often gain the greatest benefit from the CA when they are sharing best practice, highlighting key problems they are facing and working together to find the right solutions.

Nuggets of information, and hints and tips, or simply a heads-up on what might be coming over the horizon, all add to what member firm representatives can take away from a CA meeting, and we want to ensure we give time for all those who attend to discuss amongst themselves and ‘share with the group’ to make these sessions as informative and relevant as possible.

So, at our meetings on the 5^th we want to delve deeper into this. For example, at the moment, we know many members are dealing with resource issues, specifically, how to increase human resources, how to hold onto staff, how to factor in the work/life balance needs of employees, etc.

It would therefore make perfect sense for members to share how they are approaching this, what are the practices and policies they are utilising to ensure they have enough resources in place, what is happening in the world of recruitment and employment, how are they meeting demands to work remotely and within the office environment, and how they are going about matching resource with work levels –issues that appear to be figuring prominently across all stakeholder groups at the moment.

But the point here is to be driven by member firm need and demand, so if you are able to attend and want to raise a topic which you require advice or guidance on, or if you simply want to share what your experience of conveyancing is like at present, then please do. These are forums for members, and we want to ensure you get what you need out of them.

As usual, there is plenty going on in our sector and there will be much to update you on, particularly from a regulatory point of view, but also in terms of the work the CA is involved in to meet our goal of improving the home buying and selling process. The 5^{th of} May will present a further opportunity for firms to feedback on this work, and to help us navigate and present the solutions we would like to see as a conveyancing sector.

So, I hope you will be able to join us once again at these meetings, after which we will have a chance to network and mingle socially – again, another much-valued part of being a CA member and one we always want to offer.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all again next week and please highlight those points that you’d like to secure feedback on. A problem or solution shared can make a big difference to all who attend.

Nicky Heathcote is Non-Executive Chair at the Conveyancing Association (CA)