The Geodesys team recently attended the annual Legalex Show in London, which brings together innovative exhibitors and speakers for knowledge-sharing with legal professionals. It’s a real opportunity to meet customers and this year was no exception.
We have just launched our enhanced CON29DW (Drainage and Water) report so Legalex proved the ideal platform to demonstrate to conveyancers and gain some very useful feedback.
In association with Mobas, we presented a well-attended session on Social Media for Conveyancers, as well as listened to a variety of interesting views on how the government can improve the home buying process based on the recent call for evidence from stakeholders.
Here are our takeaways from the show…
1. 2018 is a year of change for the conveyancing industry
There is definitely a feeling that the home buying process can be made faster and less stressful. From the CLC sessions on transparency in pricing through to exhibitors demonstrating technology to support the conveyancing process, the show was a fantastic change for conveyancers to tap into the changing world of property transactions.
2. Conveyancers have mixed views on pricing transparency
The CLC, SRA and CiLEx have all proposed that law firms ensure that fees are more evident on their website. In conversations with conveyancers, we have found that there are mixed views on this. Our own data indicates that about 50% of law companies have a pricing tool on their website but we expect there is to be a lot more emphasis on price transparency for conveyancing during 2018. Watch this space!
3. Technology is moving faster than ever
Technology for the legal sector is always a hot topic, but this year delegates were treated to a whistle-stop tour on how technology can optimize future working.
On the conveyancing side the Land Registry spoke about their open approach to data in terms of improving the home buying process. Their immediate priority is the collection of local land change data in a new Local Land Charges (LLD) Register. This service is expected to launch later this year.
4. There is a real appetite to engage with digital marketing
Speaking on behalf of Geodesys, Adam Tuckwell highlighted three key reasons why conveyancers need to engage with social media marketing. Namely, your potential clients are there, they are talking about you and, if you don’t engage with them, your competitors will. His research identified that a lack of time and confidence in sharing content were two main causes of conveyancers not engaging. Geodesys will shortly be publishing a whitepaper outlining how these can be overcome and how social media can be used more effectively in the conveyancing industry (contact marketing.team@geodesys.com if you would like a copy.
There were also sessions designed to help law firms get the best out of their websites, effective use of LinkedIn and converting social media activity into tangible results for your firm.
5. The future is closer than we think
Chris Bull, from Nine Feet Tall, gave one of the best sessions of the show, outlining the new anatomy of the law firm. Chris explained how law firms are changing and how the new model law firm is evolving CEOs and COOs. Non-Executive Chairs, Directors of Innovation and Pricing emerge alongside traditional roles. Attendees were challenged to think about whether their law firm was future-proofed.
For further information on our experience of the event, take a look at Geodesys on LinkedIn and Twitter and view the Modern Law video series on Twitter.
This article was submitted to be published by Geodesys as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
