A Challenging future for young solicitors considering commercial property work was predicted at this year's solicitors conference by Garry Hart of Herbert Smith.To take full advantage of the opportunities young solicitors should master planning and environmental law as well as property law, keep up to date with market trends, liaise with surveyors and other property intermediaries and make sure that they are identifying client needs.Reviewing trends in property law, Mr Hart said the reform of the privity of contract rule in leases, if it happened, would be one of the most significant property law reforms in recent years.The government statement on privity reflected growing public concern about the apparent harshness of several features of the commercial property market.

Upwards only rent reviews and confidentiality clauses were perceived to operate against the interests of tenants in the recession and dispute resolution procedures between landlord and tenant could be improved.The government felt that the best way forward would be for the industry to adopt a code of practice drawing attention to the implications of upward only review and encouraging flexibility on other terms.The Law of Property (Miscellaneous) Provisions Bill is likely to come into force soon.

The Bill spells the end of 'beneficial owner' or 'trustee' covenants for title and replaces them with the concept of a seller transferring with 'full guarantee' or 'limited guarantee'.The new rules will impose a primary obligation on sellers transferring with full guarantee to do all they reasonably can at their own expense to give buyers the title the seller purports to give.At the Land Registry, major changes to the system for inspecting and searching the register are just round the corner.

It is expected that from early next year credit account holders at the Land Registry will be able, using their own computers, to view computerised registers on screen, make applications for official searches and office copies, apply for land charges searches and search for title information where the title number is not known.There are proposals to open the register further to the public by including the price paid for the property on any transaction.Major changes to the law relating to secured lending were proposed by a Law Commission paper in November 1991.

Protection of the mortgagor/home owner is the central tenet of the reform but many of the proposals cut right across the business sector.The Land Mortgages Bill, appended to the proposals, suggests the most radical restructuring of English mortgage law since 1925.In essence it proposes the abolition of all existing methods of creating mortgages and their replacement by two new legal entities - the formal and informal land mortgage.

The categories equate broadly to the existing distinction between legal and equitable charges.

A new category, 'the protected mortgage', would be created and would include all formal and informal mortgages of dwelling houses.There would be tighter controls and restrictions on the enforcement of protected mortgages generally.

All mortgages would be liable to be re-opened by the court if they were onerous.

The courts would have wider powers to adjust protected mortgages.The interdependence of development planning and transport are emphasised in a recent planning policy guidance circular 'PPG13-Transport'.

By planning land use and transport together in ways which enable people to carry out their everyday activities with less need to travel, local authorities can reduce reliance on the private car and make a significant contribution to environmental goals, says this paper.The government is committed to a 'precautionary approach' to environmental issues and to a 'polluter pays' principle.

This means that all property lawyers must appreciate the importance of land contamination when acting for a purchaser or lender.

EU environmental Directives - such as the drinking-water Directive and the waste water Directive present further challenges.At the height of the recent recession, institutions simply ceased investing in the property market, said Mr Hart.

There was a massive imbalance of supply over demand.As a consequence, many now look warily at a career in property and most property lawyers now realise the extent to which property is directly affected by economic cycles.Investment demand has recently strengthened and new development schemes are beginning to emerge.

The traditional UK lease, with its 25-year term for repairing and ensuring obligations on the tenant, and five yearly, upwards only rent reviews, is under pressure and could be reduced to ten or 15 years with a break.The form and content of the lease will remain as it is today but will reflect reasonable terms to gain maximum advantage on any rent review.All lawyers, said Mr Hart, know the pressure on professional fees which the recession has brought about.

Beauty parades are here to stay and the client will now regularly use more than one lawyer.

Market research constantly features 'competitive fees' as being one of the key issues for the client.

Undercutting will continue and lawyers must be more imaginative in packaging key quotations with a combination of hourly rates, capped fees and success related payments.Information technology will become even more important and its cost will decrease.

It will be possible for vast litigation bundles to be made available to other parties and to the court on robust and manageable diskettes; leases are being transmitted on the same basis.The information super-highway means that home can be connected to office and office to office.

In five years' time lawyers will be able to have electronic face to face meetings with clients and other lawyers anywhere in the world from their desktops.

Remote access will be available to all.Client care must remain the paramount consideration for a service profession.

Clients want a quick and efficient response; regular information on progress; and documents which are drafted and indexed in a clear, well-organised way.

Above all, they will look for added value in return for a competitive fee.Intermediaries are also an important source of work and should, in many respects, be regarded as clients.

We should see them as fellow members of a property team providing a service to mutual clients.