Praise where it’s due

Posted by Justin on Oct 11, 2013 in Nelsons' Column | 0 comments I don’t have much time for most of the Law Society’s schemes, especially the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (by which the Law Society shot its members in the feet) and suchlike. However, praise where it is due: today, the Law Society released a set of standard leasehold property enquiries, designed to be sent to the landlord or managing agent in connection with the sale of a leasehold...
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Special rules for Conservation Areas

Posted by Justin on Sep 30, 2013 in Nelsons' Column | 0 comments In an earlier blogpost on planning permissions (and Building Regulations), I commented that special rules apply to Listed Buildings and properties in Conservation Areas. Conservation Areas A Conservation Area is an area of ‘special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’.  When a Conservation Area is designated,...
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Special rules for Listed Buildings

Posted by Justin on Sep 23, 2013 in Nelsons' Column | 1 comment In an earlier blogpost on planning permissions (and Building Regulations), I commented that special rules apply to Listed Buildings and properties in Conservation Areas Listed Buildings When a building is described as ‘listed’ it means that it is included on a list of buildings which are considered to be of such special architectural or historic interest as to merit special...
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Another instance of undermining one’s own business

Posted by Justin on Sep 5, 2013 in Nelsons' Column | 0 comments My last post but one was a moan about how conveyancing solicitors are relying more on the Law Society’s Conveyancing Protocol than on the law underpinning conveyancing transactions. In doing so, I think they undermine their own value as lawyers, and therefore the value of using lawyers to carry out conveyancing. Another example of this is over-reliance on indemnity insurance policies. Many...
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And another thing …

Posted by Justin on Sep 5, 2013 in Nelsons' Column | 0 comments Another example of lawyers undermining their own raison d’etre: planning and Building Regulations. Instead of finding out the facts and applying the law to them, to decide whether (in a recent example) a detached garage needed planning permission or Building Regiulations consent – in the particular circumstances, it needed neither – the conveyancer acting for the buyer of the...
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Another moan about CQS

Posted by Justin on Sep 5, 2013 in Nelsons' Column | 0 comments Readers of this blog will know by now that I am not a fan of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (“CQS”) – it introduces an extra layer of paperwork, administration and cost that (in my view) does nothing at all to protect clients, other conveyancers or insurers, as it simply replicates what the Solicitors Regulation Authority and professional indemnity insurers...
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