Jonathan Howgill, owner of X-Press Legal Services Sussex considers why conveyancing is becoming an increasingly risky business for solicitors…

For law firms, fraud is a real and growing risk. Conveyancing in particular, can be an attractive vehicle for criminals to launder money, particularly due to the complexities of transactions and multiple opportunities to employ artifice.

This risk is sometimes underestimated by private client practitioners, who are often in high street firms dealing predominantly with local and longstanding clients. While some client profiles and transactions may be perceived as lower risk than others, it is impossible to eradicate the risk completely when dealing with transactional work. 

The pressure on conveyancing professionals to remain compliant and audit ready at all times has never been higher.  It is one of the most discussed concerns among our clients who are under immense pressure to complete transactions without falling foul of regulating authorities and compliance regulations.

If you are responsible for your firms AML strategy, then alongside ensuring you are following industry guidance to the letter and completing due diligence, I would also recommend staying abreast of compliance updates and industry articles and available webinars.

Perhaps reflecting the unease across the industry, attendance at our webinars has never been stronger.  Receiving, up-to-the-minute insights from leading conveyancing peers is invaluable to those in private practice. 

Smaller firms can often be viewed as an easier target for cyber criminals which is why at X-Press we have built the protective conveyancing arm that every small practice now requires.  Our work with digital service providers has made us advocates of this route and we believe utilising our Intelligent Online Conveyancing System (ICOS) is the safest way of protecting every transaction and most importantly, your practice.

We firmly believe that every law firm should be utilising the latest digital products to fulfil due diligence and compliance requirements. In our case ICOS is swift to access and from there professionals have an array of products at their fingertips including law firm identity checks, source of funding checks and anti-money laundering checks. 

Find out more and register for the latest events and webinars at www.xpresslegal.co.uk