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I am a solicitor, although I do not do any conveyancing. I have a lot of respect for solicitors that do this kind of work and I am NOT saying that the work is simple.
My views have been formed by being the client in several conveyancing transactions that have been unnecessarily delayed by the working practices of some members of my profession. Solicitors can be very good at knowing the law and very bad at solving real-life problems.
In an age of easily triggered professional negligence claims, endless compliance requirements, and too-heavy workloads, I do understand why many conveyancing solicitors engange in certain work practices which lead to delays:
1. If there is ever more information needed, write off to get it- it means you are waiting for something, which means you can get on with other matters while you are waiting;
2. Do everything in writing- it creates a paper trail, even though it means an exchange of information that could have been accomplished by one phone call is drawn out over a multi-day email exchange (or worse, actual letters);
3. Be paranoid above all else, to the point of endangering deals because a tiny element has not yet been wrapped up- this may avoid negligence claims, but will also lead to a lot of frustrated clients and some scuppered deals.
None of the above practices are incorrect (and all of them understandable), they just don't deliver the service the client is paying for.
The client is not only paying you for legal advice, they are paying you to get a deal completed within a reasonable time frame. If the transaction takes too long or falls through, the customer is dissatisfied, even if the advice was flawless and the delays can be blamed on the other side.
Solicitors (and I try to follow this advice myself) need to remember that the clients don't necessarily care about the process, they care about the result, and they often care that the result comes sooner rather than later.
Technology often (admittedly not always) helps- I can't believe I have to argue this point!