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Jonathan Smithers
OpinionLand Registry: a sell-off too far?
Privatisation of Land Registry threatens to undermine a vital piece of our national infrastructure.
OpinionStay engaged on education
Revised proposals for solicitor education must be viewed in the context of changes to regulation.
OpinionQuality in advocacy
The Law Society is making clear its dismay at proposals to ban own-firm instructions.
FeatureDangers of fixed costs in NHS claims
For the sake of the NHS and its patients, the Department of Health must listen to practitioners before moving forward with fixed costs.
- Opinion
Law Society diversity objectives
For the first stage of the Society programme we decided to prioritise our efforts.
OpinionReal change on human rights
The Law Society is doing pioneering work on business and human rights.
OpinionLevelling the field
Veyo board member and Law Society vice-president Jonathan Smithers responds to Gazette reader concerns about pricing for the conveyancing portal.
- Opinion
Sticking to the protocol
There may be a remedy for unnecessary delays in the conveyancing process.
OpinionRingmasters in the circus
Solicitors are core to the house-moving process and attuned to the complexities poorly understood by others.
- News
Conveyancing panels and separate representation
For at least the past two years, the Law Society has been working hard to respond to a series of unwelcome and often confusing changes to lender panel membership.
- News
Conveyancing panels
The recent announcement of automatic admission for CQS firms to the HSBC panel is a welcome return to normality. Perhaps not quite ‘as you were’, but a major step towards recognition that the best interests of our clients and their borrowers are served by a diversity of choice within the ...
- News
HSBC's 43-strong conveyancing panel sets alarming precedent
by Jonathan Smithers, chair of the Law Society Conveyancing and Land Law Committee
- News
Conveyancing Protocol update
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is building up a head of steam. The first firms have been accredited. Applications are coming in thick and fast.