UK EasyConvey secures GBP 3M in funding

Easy Convey secures GBP 3 million investment from RemoteLaw Online Systems Corporation (Canada)

Funding will allow for additional recruitment, further expansion, and a more aggressive product development programme

The investment will provide RemoteLaw with a local presence in the UK and an established customer base in both England and Wales. Easy Convey plans to use the funds for additional recruitment, customer management, product development, and marketing.

"Canada is probably two or three years ahead of the UK in terms of e conveyancing, which means that RemoteLaw can offer us a peek into the future, whilst also giving us the benefit of hindsight," says Dominic Cullis, Managing Director, East Convey Ltd. "Although there are some differences, the opportunity for e-conveyancing is very similar in both countries. RemoteLaw's extensive experience of this market will be invaluable to us, both in terms of knowing what to do, and also what not to do."

Press Release details

E-transfers a threat to legal-aid funding

THERE is an unannounced sting in the tail of electronic conveyancing that is likely to shake up the funding of legal aid, legal education, the functions of regulators, complaint handlers and law foundations.

It arises from the nature of e-conveyancing, which, although intended and promoted by state attorneys-general as a means of improving administrative efficiency and reducing the cost of conveyancing, will also progressively cripple the funding source of the above public operations.

Adrian Evans - The Australian 25 Nov 205

Sometimes rivers dry up

Global media baron Rupert Murdoch says his $1 billion hunt for internet assets was strategic spending, not panic buying in the face of a gloomy outlook for newspapers.He said it was a "very careful strategy" to go for the largest sites for people under 30 years old.

The News Corp chief this month shareholders that newspaper profits were good overall and that the company would continue to reinvest in its newspapers and improve their performance.

But he indicated to UK Press Gazette that newspaper classifieds no longer provided "rivers of gold" for their owners.

"Sometimes rivers dry up," he said.

"This is a generational thing ... certainly I don't know anybody under 30 who has ever looked at a classified advertisement in a newspaper."

A classic quote from the master of media as reported by The Age

Digital Electronic Conveyancing Users Group

Invitation to join the Digital / Electronic Conveyancing Users Group

It’s official. Implementation of the National Electronic Conveyancing System (NECS) is four years away. NECS deals with electronic settlements and E-dealings with the State Land Registries. That’s the back end.

What about the front end? 247legal.com.au & GlobalX are partners in creating the digital conveyancing network between lawyers & estate agents, vendors & buyers, financial institutions & Land Registries. It’s online and it’s digital.

247legal is inviting legal practitioners, law firms and para-legals to join the Digital / Electronic Conveyancing Users Group to establish industry standards for online digital conveyancing. We are seeking representation from city, country and suburban law firms.

To join complete the online application form.

Licensed Service Providers

What is a Licensed Service Provider?

Licensed Service Providers, or LSPs, are included in the National Business Model for electronic conveyancing to ensure that users in all industry sectors can receive the service and attention they need to get their conveyancing work done conveniently and efficiently.

Just as law agents, settlement agents, information brokers and client service providers meet the various needs of conveyancing practitioners and the general public in property transactions today, LSPs will provide similar services in an electronic conveyancing environment. They will be private sector businesses providing services to private sector clients under conditions in some instances set out in a license agreement with Lands.

What will LSPs do?

LSPs are likely to offer a range of services to conveyancing firms and practitioners, such as solicitors, conveyancers, mortgage processors, law firms and financial institutions. Among their services are likely to be:

• connection to electronic conveyancing by browser or web services
  
• specialised browser interfaces suited to particular client groups
  
• integration of electronic conveyancing with other business services (eg title searches and electronic stamping)
  
• accreditation training for new users and refresher training for all users, particularly infrequent users
  
• distribution to users of alert and general information bulletins
  
• technical and applications support to users for problem resolution
  

LSPs will enter into commercial arrangements with their clients for these services.

Source Electronic Conveyancing NSW Newsletter Nov 05

Serviced Apartments - Traps & Pitfalls

Investors can be attracted to Serviced Apartments for many reasons. One reason is higher than average returns - often resales are on yields of 6 to 6.5%. Two, they are told they are a set & forget style investment. Three, there is a long term lease. Four, the tenant pays the body corporate fees. Five, there are no management fees. Six, I can claim excellent depreciation deductions. All these things may or may not be correct. I should know I own more than one serviced apartment. I even have a solid capital gain on paper on the one I own in Townsville.

However, in the re-sale market the above sales pitch needs to be tested. Not all serviced apartments or the individual operator or the body corporate management are equal. If you want to know what due diligence you ought to conduct before you buy a "second hand" Serviced Apartment, you need to ask a few questions rather than just listen to what you are told.

This advice is not saying "dont ever buy a serviced apartment" as I and many of my clients own one or more serviced apartments and they form an integral part of a balanced property portfolio, balanced between capital growth and yield.

cafe barrista

Cheap online conveyancing - Fin Review

Five major banks will participate in a major Victorian pilot project of "e-conveyancing", which could eventually slash costs by $400 on a typical house purchase.
The paperless project could in time provide a single national system that would harmonise the eight different conveyancing systems around Australia.
The launch of the project follows an inter-governmental agreement between NSW and Victoria to establish a national office in Melbourne to co-ordinate a nation-wide system
Westpac, ANZ Bank, Suncorp, St George and Bendigo Bank will participate in the pilot project, to be conducted next year.

national standard

Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls announced the establishment of a new national office in Melbourne to coordinate a nationwide system, with the participation of five major banks.
But John McIntyre, president of the Law Society of NSW and a member of the project's steering committee, said harmonising property law would not be necessary to get the e-conveyancing project off the ground.
"All the states run a Torrens title system, so we still all have the same gauge railway," Mr McIntyre said. "Some might be in red trains and some might be in blue trains but at least we're all on the same track."
The only immediate change needed to the law, Mr McIntyre said, would be slight legislative changes to accommodate the move from paper to electronic data.
The e-conveyancing project, which will provide a national electronic system for property settlements, will initially be restricted to mortgage transactions between banks

Electronic conveyancing - UK

The UK Government’s electronic conveyancing initiative could, in the words of one prominent lawyer, make property as tradeable as stocks and shares. But up to the time of writing, e-conveyancing has been something of a damp squib for entrepreneurial law firms that thought they could steal a march on the market by tooling up and embracing online property information services, XML data standards and other aspects of e-conveyancing.

However, when e-conveyancing really does kick off — which is now likely to be sooner rather than later — there will be a scramble to exploit its potential. Law firms and IT developers that know their way around the PISCES standard and the National Land Information Service will be best placed to take advantage. The move to full e-conveyancing in England and Wales will undoubtedly increase the suitability of case management systems for this type of legal work.

Currently, the best source of information on the Government’s strategy for e-conveyancing and its vision of a ‘chain matrix’ is to be found on the website of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister ( see www.odpm.gov.uk)

Kieran Flatt Legal Week

Fountain Pens, originally uploaded by tow.zwierz.

The Australian: Colliers in Docklands dock [November 17, 2005]

The Australian: Colliers in Docklands dock [November 17, 2005]

THE Docklands apartments misleading conduct and contracts allegations saga has resurfaced in the Victorian Supreme Court, but this time commercial agents Colliers International are in the firing line.

Misrepresentation is the classic out clause when you dont have an exit clause under the contract. The outcome will be interesting

GlobalX / 247 Legal

247Legal is pleased to have a new Official Partner GlobalX. GlobalX is the technical leader in the title search and certificate provisioning business. Both companies will dedicate rolling out digital conveyancing solutions for lawyers & estate agents, vendors & buyers across Australia.



globalx.com.au
247legal.com.au

NZ - eDealings - case study

Wellington law firm Foot Law received e-dealing training in January this year. Ten months on, Landwrap spoke to Solicitor Rosemary Tomlinson and Legal Executive Jan Prankerd to hear their views of Landonline.

Rosemary is impressed at the ability that Landonline gives her to prepare documents and complete a transfer and registration for a single-party transaction in under 10 minutes.

"In the paper environment I relied on our secretary to type up and prepare the documents but there's no need for me to wait around now," she says. "With e-dealing I have the flexibility to get on with the job and achieve instant registration. I can push my work through more quickly too. Internal transactions such as refinancing or trust set-ups are a good example.

"I'd like to be able to use it more," says Jan. "I had a couple of months where we only had paper transactions and when I finally did receive an e-dealing, I felt rusty. It would be so much better if all law firms were e-dealing."

"It's great to be doing a transaction with another e-dealing party. In a multi-party transaction I prepare my documents in advance so they are ready for the other side to complete their documents. It's a lot faster and the registration fee is a lot cheaper for the client."






NZ Landonline

NZ Landlonline

E-conveyancing does work. In New Zealand, there is a Landonline system of eDealing which has some of the characteristics that are envisaged for e-conveyancing(UK). Those of you that are interested should look at www.landonline.govt.nz. The New Zealand experience may provide you with some comfort.

Landonline may also enable us to identify how e-conveyancing is going to work in practice. Those participating in eDealing are divided into those holding digital certificates who can sign documents on behalf of clients (and are called conveyancing professionals) and primary contacts who would have day-to-day control of the conveyancing transaction and who would be named users of the landonline system. Only one primary contact can be nominated for each transaction.

Thus the primary contact prepares documentation, undertakes relevant searches and so on, while the conveyancing professional signs contracts, transfers and mortgages on behalf of the client and must have sufficient knowledge of the transaction to make informed and factually accurate certifications. Authority is given by the client to the conveyancing professional when instructions are received and great care is taken to ensure that informed consent is provided when the client gives authority to the conveyancing professional; care is also taken to verify the identity of the client.
It is interesting to note that emphasis is placed on the responsibility of the conveyancing professional and primary contact rather than a firm.

eDealing includes pre-validation which is similar to the creation of the notional register proposed in e-conveyancing transactions. It also includes a process of electronic payment, which we may see when the Electronic Funds Transfer Service is introduced. Documentation is signed and certified by the conveyancing professional using the digital certificate. Signature and certificate are displayed on the electronic document. The process takes three to five minutes and can be done before exchange or completion. Registration is an automatic process.

Ian Quayle is a lecturer, consultant, trainer with Central Law Training Limited

Source ILEX UK Institute of Legal Executives

Electronic Signatures - British Columbia

Juricert was created to validate the identity of persons using the internet for professional communications. Juricert Services Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Juricert provides registration services which establish the identity and professional credentials of the registrant. This process creates a Trusted Digital Credential record that can be used to validate online identity in a variety of products and services, including the Law Society of British Columbia's new Trust Reports Online.


Juricert

Electronic Filing - British Columbia

Electronic Filing System (EFS)

The Land Title Division's Electronic Filing System (EFS) enables authorized users to electronically submit Land Title documents for registration. This eliminates the need to attend the Land Title Office for this purpose and means that all clients have the same level of service no matter where they live in British Columbia.

EFS involves the electronic submission of land title instruments to the land title office. The Registrar and the land title staff will continue to examine all applications submitted and be responsible for the final registration.

The process starts with the EFS form templates which will be used to generate an electronic land title form. With the templates downloaded to your personal computer all work creating the documents is done offline. Once the form is completed and a paper copy has been executed, the Lawyer or Notary will apply their digital signatures (based on a digital signing certificate acquired from the Law Society) to the electronic form. The completed form, with the digital signature can then be submitted electronically to the Land Title Office through BC OnLine. When the form is submitted, land title fees will be deducted from the user’s BC OnLine deposit account and property transfer tax (if applicable) will be collected from a bank account via an electronic funds transfer. EFS will assign document number(s), date and time of receipt, and then send a notice to the person submitting which includes this information and all pertinent financial information.

Initially EFS includes the Form A Transfer, Form B Mortgage, Form C Charge and Release, the Property Transfer Tax Return, and the Claim of Builders Lien. Electronic filing of other applications will be added after the initial release of EFS

bc - Land Title & Survey

eConveyance - British Columbia Canada

The company’s web-based system, known as econveyance™, links all participants in the property transfer process with a secure and efficient means of seamlessly completing and monitoring the transaction online.

There were approximately 160,000 standard buy/sell real estate transactions conducted in BC during the last twelve months. Working through BC OnLine, econveyance™ provides electronic production and delivery of property transfer data between all participants. Lawyers and notaries are our primary revenue sources but the benefits extend to all parties participating in the conveyance process, including real estate agents.

eConveyance

Legal Technology - 1996 to 2005

A look back at the last decade's winners and losers in the battle for lawyers' hearts, minds and technology dollars

By Michael Aneiro
The American Lawyer
October 31, 2005


When The American Lawyer published its first AmLaw Tech Survey in 1996, legal technology was on the cusp of drastic changes. Some lawyers had started to tote laptops; most still didn't bother. Some were getting comfortable with e-mail, but when it came to voice communication, the landline telephone still ruled. In their offices, attorneys were making their first forays into cyberspace, aboard bulky desktop machines powered by 486 chips, while on the other side of the door their secretaries were busy typing documents in WordPerfect and crunching numbers in Lotus 1-2-3.



What a difference a decade makes. Where firms were first dabbling in mobile tools in 1996, they are now armed with full arsenals of on-the-road productivity devices -- cell phones, PDAs and laptops that keep lawyers connected at all times. Despite the explosion of cell phone use, e-mail's impact may have been even greater. For proof, just visit any law firm conference room, where BlackBerrys discreetly tap out volumes of timely information during even the most eventful meetings. The Internet, meanwhile, has gone from uncharted curiosity to vital information source, with a full boom-and-bust cycle in between. And that 1-2-3 spreadsheet? It probably got thrown out with the SyQuest 88MB disk it was saved on.

Technology has matured, and a lot of trends and products have come and gone since the first AmLaw Tech Survey. On the occasion of our 10th survey, we look back at the biggest technological shifts over the past decade, while using this year's results to gather some clues about where legal technology may be headed.

GhostDigest - Conveyancing News & Views website

South African based website
Conveyancing News & Digest

Online warning for papers - Employment Classifieds

Online warning for papers - www.seek.com.au
Paul Bassat - "In simple terms, online is a better medium both for the job seekers to find jobs and for the advertiser to find staff."

About 15 per cent of classified employment ads are online and Seek has a 48 per cent share of this market.

Mr Bassat said the Australian market would soon match the United States, where 22 per cent of job ads are online, resulting in a 50 per cent increase in revenue for Seek.

He tipped that in 5-10 years more than half of the jobs ads would be on the internet.

Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd has a 25 per cent stake in Seek and James Packer chairs the board.

Planet PDF - PDF is 4 foot 8.5 inches

PDF is 4 foot 8.5 inchesTom Carson - Director of Technology Curriculum Development, The New Economy Institute

"To keep my students on their toes, I often have a riddle that will reward them with a free lunch. One of my favorites is that PDF is 4 foot 8 1/2 inches and that 4 foot 8 1/2 inches is one of the most important numbers in American History (and world history). The answers to this question have been very intriguing. One student said that Napoleon was 4' 8 1/2", although I really do now know this was important to American History."

Buyer beware - Buyers Advocates

Buyer beware - Buyer Advocates smh.com.au 7 Nov 2005

Alan Kohler "What is amazing is that almost all buyers' advocates charge a percentage of the sale price; and even more astonishing is that clients are paying it.

Assuming the non-disclosers also charge a percentage, which is a pretty safe assumption, it means that more than 90 per cent of buyers' advocates actually have a stake in driving the price paid by their clients higher.

Vendors paying a percentage of the value to their agent is understandable: you want to give your agent an incentive to get the price up. But on the buying side as well?

Why on earth would you pay your negotiator more for failure - for failing to get the property for a cheaper price?

By paying a percentage of the value of the house, buyers are ensuring that the more they pay for the property, the better their advocate does."

Cheap online conveyancing?

According to the Financial Review "the mooted National Electronic Conveyancing System will mean cheaper conveyancing because of national competition".

My response is there's plenty of competition already. Conveyancing is more complex than the arranging of physical settlements. An online E-Lodgement system (which is what NECS is) will make the complex settlement arrangments easier (theoretically) but I dont agree it will make it any cheaper. There is an argument lawyers will have a larger liability exposure as they will be "signing the transfer"

Read the article FinReview 4 Nov 05

Links to Electronic Commerce Acts - worldwide

Links to Electronic Commerce Acts unverified

Imitation - sincerest form of flattery

Lexus Conveyancing Melbourne has published a vendors statement online for download by the agent or prospective purchaser. This is virtually a copy and paste of the original idea pioneered by Hayton Kosky Lawyers. Since then my belief is there will be an industry model for online publishing of legal documentation via a single portal such as 247legal.com.au

Pelikan M200

Pelikan M200
Originally uploaded by tow.zwierz.

Owner Builders Warranty Insurance - What's its value?

If you are a purchaser of a home from an owner-builder and there are a number of defects that come to light and you want them fixed. Do you claim under the Warranty Insurance? No - not if the owner builder is not dead, bankrupt or missing

Well what do you do? For full deails read a case study by Brett Hayton of Hayton Kosky Lawyers

Victorian property trends by turnover

The Victorian Land Registry regularly reports the number of property dealings they process. The most common land dealings are transfers, new mortgages and discharge of mortgages. As most property sales have settlement periods of 60 to 90 days, the lodgements and reporting is always historic and never current. Property data from land registry therefore only gives you a rear view perspective.

Looking back however you can get some perspective to overall property trends on a Statewide basis.



The peak in the property market by number of sales was December 03. Whereas turnover in 2004 was down on 2003 by 9.2%. Turnover bottomed out by the end 2004 and beginning of 2005.

The figures in July 05 give the impression we have seen the bottom of the market by turnover. The good news being the figures tell us volumes are rising with the turnover in the July 05 quarter exceeding those in July 03.

Most agents are reporting listings are tight and that tells me that the spring sales of 2005 won’t match those in spring 2003 which exceeded 20,000. BH