THE Law Society is launching a campaign to encourage solicitors involved in residential conveyancing to join a new quality scheme.
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme, which is supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, will provide a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices.
The scheme opened for applications in December. But the society said firms needed to have completed applications for CQS status by February 28 to get the most out of its publicity push.
The society is planning to highlight the benefits of the scheme to home buyers and potential home buyers beginning in April to coincide with the Easter house-hunting surge.
Law Society president Linda Lee said that over the past three years, the society had led consumer PR campaigns encouraging the public to use a solicitor rather than other legal providers – all of which had been successful.
She said: “We now plan to do the same with CQS, a scheme which will be of genuine benefit to anyone buying a home.
“The aim is to generate publicity for legal practices which have secured the CQS mark of excellence and enable them to market their CQS status to the public effectively.
“Firms which have applied by the end of February will benefit most from the society's initial wave of promotion, which is aimed at flagging up to homebuyers the benefits of using a CQS accredited practice for conveyancing.”
Firms applying to join the scheme will undergo a “robust” assessment and will be required to renew their membership of the scheme each year.
The aim is to reinforce consistency of standards throughout the conveyancing process, reduce the risk of fraud and give consumers peace of mind when it comes to home buying.
Go to www.lawsociety.org.uk or ring 020 73165550.
