What with one thing and another (see the news pages) our conveyancing colleagues are having a bit of a time of it at the moment. So Obiter wasn’t too surprised to receive a survey showing that only one third of them are satisfied in their area of practice.

The survey of 700 practitioners, by search firm Searches UK, found that nearly 70% of respondents said if they had the opportunity to start again, they would possibly choose a different speciality. Probate and litigation were the most popular options. Dealing with banks was reported as the most stressful part of the job; dealing with estate agents the second.

When asked about their view on the future of conveyancing, Searches UK said ‘the overriding response was of general uncertainty and a fear that the role of a conveyancing practitioner would be reduced to "mere form filling"’. Uh oh.