The legal landscape is changing beyond all recognition, with many firms positioning themselves to compete with new and powerful competitors. Together with market liberalisation, compliance challenges, a new accreditation scheme, the threat of removal from lender panels and PI concerns, conveyancing firms of all sizes are aiming to streamline their businesses, reduce costs and improve their risk management.
Jet incorporates the 22,000 plus elements of the CML Lenders Handbook (in association with First Title’s HOPP) to allow a conveyancer to achieve 100% compliance with each individual lender’s criteria.
It will help lenders develop their conveyancing panel criteria while allowing conveyancers to comply with the new regulatory regime which comes into force next October.
The Lenders’ Handbook and Part II requirements (for specific lenders) come to 39 pages.
Currently if the conveyancer follows his or her professional duties to the letter, it can take as long as 45 minutes to review, interpret and apply the instructions to the case. Jet has already digitised, analysed and filtered the data and, where possible, converted it to plain English.
JUST FIVE MINUTES
By converting the Handbook queries to concise and understandable questions, Jet also allows Handbook checking to be carried out by less qualified members of staff. The journey is non-editable - save for filters – and for a case to be passed the user must deal with all elements of the Handbook.
Solicitor Julian Sampson, a partner with Wright & Wright solicitors, Guildford, who helped develop the Jet concept, says: “When the CML Handbook was first launched it was heralded as a welcome consolidation of lender instructions. Its introduction was designed to expedite and simplify the relationship between conveyancer and lender. Even then, conveyancers were thinking of ways to incorporate this model into the way they transacted business.
"However static, non-intuitive questionnaires and checklists became rife. Over the years, the Handbook has become difficult to track and this raises issues for conveyancers, in particular, the challenge of managing the continually varying flow of data and instructions. The development of an IT platform which streamlines this process has become an imperative to make conveyancing easier whilst bolstering the integrity of firms’ risk management processes. Jet is that platform.”
Alan Dring, managing director of consultancy the Mad Approach, adds: “For the last 10 years I have seen the legal fraternity try to adapt to the changes made to the conveyancing landscape and have to say many have struggled to get the balance between their legal obligations and the impact this has had on bottom line growth, time saving efficiencies and customer satisfaction.
"With the implications of the SRA’s draft supervision and enforcement strategy for conveyancing casting a major shadow over the profession this year I believe this innovative product will be a significant help as conveyancers strive to gain lender panel accreditation.
"The Jet proposition is an impressive step in the right direction for lenders and conveyancers alike”
Marilyn Cole, founding partner at Space01, says:“Technology solves business problems when it is applied to the real life challenges facing a business or a sector. Before we began the development of the Jet solution, we researched the conveyacing market extensively, identifying the Lenders’ Handbook and resulting compliance issues as a key area where processes could be improved by the application of the right technology solution.
"Jet is the right technology solution at the right time for the conveyancing market bringing efficiency, time savings and huge compliance benefits while allowing conveyancers and lenders to improve their risk management dramatically.”
