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Digitisation of the conveyancing process
Practitioners are reminded of the practice note issued by the Conveyancing Committee and the Technology Committee in the July 2019 Gazette (p58) – ‘Sharing conditions of sale and title documents in electronic form‘.
Recognising that, during the Covid-19 lockdown, many solicitors are working from home, practitioners are advised that:
- It is good practice to issue copy title and related documents in digital format (with hard copies to follow where requested) at the outset of a transaction, where possible.
- When sending documents in hard copy, the cover letter should indicate if the enclosures were previously sent digitally to the recipient. This will save duplication of scanning efforts and recognises that many solicitors won’t see the post until it has been processed (scanned) by administrative staff.
- During this period, practitioners are encouraged to communicate with colleagues by email as appropriate and to avoid sending hard-copy letters, unless it is necessary to do so.
The committee also wishes to highlight that it is good practice that:
- All correspondence includes the file reference of the recipient,
- Emails should be sent to the designated email address of, or for, the person with whom they are corresponding, and
- As ever, great care should be taken when opening attachments to emails received from external sources.
