Lawyers' anxieties prompt e-conveyancing changes

The government is amending its model of e-conveyancing after seeking the views of hundreds of solicitors who will eventually use the system, it was revealed this week.The Land Registry made the move after 1,200 conveyancing professionals were invited to practical demonstrations of how the 'paperless office' system will work.Although the Land Registry said that in general the feedback was positive, it admitted that the exercise highlighted some 'anxieties'.

These ranged from complaints from colour-blind users about the amount of red and green graphics in the current model, to wider concerns from conveyancing specialists wondering whether the new system would put them out of a job.But Steve Kelway, general counsel for the Land Registry's e-conveyancing task force, said solicitors were impressed with the speed of the system and the way it could identify which party in the chain was holding matters up.

Solicitors, clients and lenders will also benefit from simultaneous and automatic exchange of keys and finance, he added.

'The system will reduce some of the anxieties citizens have and bring more certainty and transparency to the conveyancing process,' Mr Kelway predicted.Task force head Ian Goodall said the Land Registry's aim now is to work on fine-tuning the model before gradually rolling it out, with the ultimate objective of all conveyancers using it.

Pilot projects testing the whole system are expected to be in place by 2005, after further consultation is undertaken and amendments made to the model.'We will take an incremental, phased approach, rather than a big bang,' Mr Goodall explained.

'We are optimistic that through the system of e-lodgment [where parties can lodge documents including deeds and forms with the Land Registry on-line], we will have made progress in getting members of the profession used to the electronic way of working.'Paula Rohan