Rowlinsons Solicitors website tells me that they are “different from other law firms” and as I sat in their reception reading the “29 Common Mistakes People Make When Moving House” leaflet I had to agree. Most firms would have 25 or 30 reasons rather than 29. They are also one of the small group of firms that already have their CQS accreditation and they appear to take their conveyancing business very seriously.
Denis Stevenson the Managing Director greeted me with his usual beaming smile and disarming courtesy. Well known in the North West for his work with relocation conveyancing he clearly understands his market and opened the conversation with the challenges that the new outcome focused regulation rule on conflicts are posing.
Denis has recently switched his supplier to the new ETSOS search ordering platform explaining:
“The main reason for starting to look at this was that our research showed we were losing quote instructions locally not because our price was too high but because our search prices were causing the overall package cost to drive clients elsewhere.
We initially thought that his was down to the NLIS hub fee but when we looked at it we could be £30 to £50 more expensive for our usual bundle of searches than other firms even where other firms used official searches like us. Having spoken to another firm that had moved to ETSOS we gave it a go with one fee earner and because she found it so flexible and easy to use we rolled it out across our whole business.”.
Denis is also impressed by the ability to give independent estate agents the ability at no cost to quote on conveyancing and track cases. He said that the system enables an agent to continue to use their existing legal relationships as well as using their service. He believes this has enabled them to forge stronger relationships with estate agents.
Denis did explain that the 30th common mistake was not using Rowlinsons for conveyancing so I now understand why there are only 29 reasons in his leaflet.
Today’s Conveyancer, bringing you the latest conveyancing news and updates.
