Automating the conveyancing process – a couple of years ago this thought would have made many lawyers drop their jaw and possibly even angered them. How can you automate what has taken years of expensive and difficult training to learn? What an insult to their expert skills and knowledge! Oh no – not anymore.

I attended The Law Society of Scotland’s conference last week and the work being done within the industry and from Registers of Scotland is not only refreshing but is being welcomed. It is exciting and is being seen as a positive change. Instead of coming out of lockdown and reverting back to old ways, the industry is accelerating and pushing further ahead with innovation than ever before.

Why the change in mindset?

Maybe we aren’t scared of technology anymore? We all use it in our everyday life with little problem. Instead of looking at technology development like it is taking our jobs from us and demeaning our skills, our attitude has changed and we can now see that in fact what it does is enable us to do more of what we love and do it better.

Registers of Scotland are working on providing a digital submission solution for advance notices. In fact they were actively encouraging and calling out for firms to test this with them at the conference and said they really are accelerating this process now with a dedicated development team – how refreshing is that! Lawyers for some reason get a bad reputation about being behind in technology and not embracing it but this is definitely not what I saw at the conference and I don’t see it in my day to day job. Yes, there were lots of questions especially around e-signatures but change brings pain and we have all worked through pain in business – it is almost always worth it!

I predict in another couple of years the conveyancing process as we know it will be completely transformed and lawyers and clients will both be delighted with the progress made and how the conveyancing process looks – it will be quicker, there will be less risk of human error and lawyers will have time to offer expert advice without being bogged down with admin work.

Back to my point on lawyers being seen to fear technology. I mentioned Registers of Scotland but I see every day, UK wide, that lawyers are embracing tech. Cashroom has over 200 law firms in the UK using outsourced legal accounting services – these are not firms that fear technology.

Our experts log in and use many practice management systems depending on what the client uses – these systems and the firms that use them do not fear technology.

Our online portal ensures efficient and risk reduced processes whilst reducing compliance worries from the law firm, enabling our legal cashiers and accountants to focus on the expert detail that they know best. The advanced technology Cashroom has enables our experts to do their best job as well as maximising the efficiency in our services – that is exactly what Registers will achieve with their work. If you ask me lawyers aren’t scared of technology – they are embracing it and will reap the benefits!

Emma O’Day