Conveyancing Quality Scheme benchmark is the way forward

Launched in January by the Law Society, with over 700 conveyancers having already registered, CQS will definitely help to drive up standards according to OpenConvey’s operations director, Jonathan Hall.

He said: “The CQS is an initiative from the Law Society which goes a long way to re-establishing confidence among lenders in the wake of some high profile fraud cases involving the conveyancing of property. It will become a benchmark which will definitely help to promote best practice and will also help to reinforce consumer confidence in the conveyancing process. We are talking to members of our conveyancing panel and it is more than likely that all of our eligible members will have applied for registration this year.”

David Sledge, whose firm, Property Law Partners, is a member of the OpenConvey conveyancing panel and in the process of registering for the CQS, commented: “The need to drive up standards should be part of the evolution of any service. We welcome this initiative and believe that the Law Society’s move in setting up CQS along with the CML’s endorsement is a very healthy development which will benefit lenders and clients.”