He will take up the newly created post with immediate effect and will be working closely with the CoPSO board members to drive forward its agenda for 2012.
Sherwood-Rogers previously held the position of non-executive chairman but in order to support COPSO’s ambitious plans for the year ahead, the appointment of an independent executive chairman was deemed necessary.
The new role, which replaces the voluntary chairman post, will ensure that the trade association is guaranteed dedicated hours from an experienced chairman.
This time will be invested in helping to raise the profile of CoPSO and its role within the industry, as well as further promoting the benefits of the search code to both the lending and conveyancing communities.
Sherwood-Rogers said: “CoPSO has an essential role to play in delivering effective conveyancing, by setting standards for all due diligence searches, which are at the heart of any home buying decision. COPSO has already done an excellent job in raising standards across the industry, and has recently invested heavily in additional resources to ensure subscribers to the Code are meeting the higher standards required.
“A growing number of lenders already require that their conveyancers only commission due diligence search reports from Search Code subscribers. However, there are still a number of those that have yet to realise the risks of not doing so – something that needs to change in order to properly protect consumers, lenders and, of course, solicitors. We are looking forward to working with all parts of the industry to minimise risks in conveyancing for all involved.”
Mike Ockenden, chief executive of CoPSO, added: “James brings with him a unique wealth of experience and expertise in conveyancing searches and the wider property market.”
