The first law firms to be awarded the Law Society’s new quality mark for conveyancing practices were announced last week, with 385 firms having applied for the scheme so far.

Colchester firm Martin Elliott & Co, Kent firm Boys & Maughan, Hull firm Hamers and London firm PCM have all obtained Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) status, following ‘rigorous’ Law Society assessment.

Membership of the CQS opened in January. The Society said that the scheme ‘aims to reinforce consistency of standards throughout the conveyancing process, reduce the risk of fraud, and give consumers peace of mind when it comes to home buying.’

Firms must renew their membership each year.

Law Society president Linda Lee hailed the four firms as the ‘flag bearers’ of the CQS scheme.

‘In what is already a crowded conveyancing market, CQS-accredited legal practices will be clearly visible to anyone looking to buy a home,’ she said.

‘For what is the most expensive purchase of anyone’s lifetime, it is vital that they can rely on the quality service provision of CQS.’

Hamers partner Jim Wyatt said: ‘As the legal services marketplace opens up yet further in October, customers will have a greater choice of legal providers.

'We want to be able to compete in this new marketplace by offering customers, old and new, a cost-effective quality conveyancing service. This accreditation will help us do so.’

Marco Pierleoni, chief executive of the Land Registry, welcomed the CQS.

He said: ‘Land Registry is committed to combating registration fraud and in September 2010 as part of our counter-measures we collaborated with the Law Society in producing a joint practice note to assist in identifying and preventing registration fraud.

‘We continue to work with a wide variety of organisations in this area and welcome the introduction of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme as a further step in improving the conveyancing process.’