‘I’m out!’ Conveyancer quits and warns more will follow
Pardeep Kandola says conveyancers are over-worked, undervalued and should be charging more for their services.
A frontline conveyancer is quitting and warning the property industry that more solicitors will follow.
Pardeep Kandola, who works for Thomas Flavell & Sons in Leamington Spa (main picture), says it’s “a thankless job”, and doesn’t attract the respect it deserves.
He also believes conveyancers should charge more for their services.
Thankless job
“I’m a self-professed people pleaser, and in conveyancing, that’s an extremely difficult feat at the moment,” he said.
“My view is that conveyancing can be a thankless job, with very little respect shown to the profession, not limited to me, but as a whole.”
And he warned: “It’s more so now, where such incredibly talented lawyers are exiting the profession, and less are joining to replenish.”
For starters, we need to charge more and take less work on.”
Kandola has some recommendations for change: “For starters, we need to charge more and take less work on. Firms will be profitable, firms can invest more and I really think property lawyers will have a feeling of self-worth.”
Kandola told the Law Society Gazette he will still be working in conveyancing, supervising other solicitors and providing technical support.
Plenty of vacancies
Earlier this year, Indeed.com revealed that conveyancers looking for new jobs had plenty of vacancies to choose from.
Vacancies jumped by 111% over the previous 12 months offering an average salary of £53,000.
This made conveyancing the second most buoyant jobs market within the UK, Indeed said, beaten only by vacancies for teachers – although they are paid on average much less at £39,356.
I remember a conversation I had with a conveyancer / solicitor many years ago over a lunch. I asked “why is it solicitors / conveyancers get a bit p***** off with estate agents? He said “when we see the invoices that agents are charging, compared with our invoice, it looks unfair, especially after 3 years training” (or words to that effect). So I responded by saying he should raise his fees…and that sentiment still stands.
For me, the problem is that it’s a race to the bottom, low fees to beat the competition, low wages, unhappy staff, poor service.