Solicitors seek common ground

WORKING GROUP: conveyancers push PISCES as front runner for paperless offices

Solicitors and other players in the property market have formed a working group aimed at pushing forward a common data standard for exchange of conveyancing information, amid expectations that the government is close to approving formally a system to underpin the e-conveyancing revolution.

The initiative - which was announced at a meeting of solicitors and representatives from organisations including the Land Registry, Council of Mortgage Lenders and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - will be geared towards promoting the Property Information Systems Common Exchange Standard (PISCES) as the front runner in the race towards paperless offices.

PISCES is an XML-based set of definitions and rules enabling data transfer between software packages, and has been recognised by the ten law firms that have joined as the most likely system to be adopted when paperless offices take off.

They are City firms Linklaters, Lovells, Berwin Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna, Nabarro Nathanson, SJ Berwin and Maxwell Batley, Leeds-based Walker Morris, Wragge & Co in Birmingham, and Scottish practice Dundas & Wilson.

IT consultancy Fraser Williams is also involved.

An extended version covering real estate information, in addition to the surveyor-related data it currently covers, will be launched after it has been approved by the project's legal working group.

Speaking at the meeting, chief land registrar Steve Kelway confirmed that it was essential to implement a common standard if e-conveyancing was to work.

Speaking afterwards, PISCES chairman Mark Riddick, who is also managing director of National Land Information Service channel provider Searchflow, said he was confident that as the scheme has been tried and tested for more than five years, it had a good chance of being adopted by the government as it was the 'only game in town' and was commercially neutral.

The PISCES residential property working group will soon circulate a draft document within the property industry to garner views.

Group member Nick Bartlett, a real estate assistant at Linklaters, urged firms of all sizes to get involved as the use of PISCES was likely to become widespread.

'We are actively recruiting people such as solicitors, lenders and other intermediaries from the residential legal sector because the more people who give their views, the better the product will be,' he explained.

'We want to hear from smaller firms, bulk conveyancing outfits - everyone.

This is a call to arms.'

Paula Rohan