I am often asked for recommendations for property lawyers. Indeed it is an industry built on reputation and referrals. Like all professions, there are some excellent ones and some not so good. So it raises the question of what makes a good lawyer?
Here are a few things in my mind that may make the difference:
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Response rate
How quickly your lawyer responds to your emails or telephone calls has to be one of the main indicators of how good they are are. Everyone is busy especially property conveyancers.
Buying and or selling your home can be a very personal, emotive and financially significant transaction for someone. Therefore if they have asked their lawyer a question, to not get a response for a week can be frustrating for them and does not display a level of efficiency. Those who are busy but understand this, can at least send a holding email to say they will come back to them. The poor ones do not respond at all, leaving the client needing to chase after a while having heard nothing. This can be frustrating.
Likewise buying or selling properties can mean being part of a property chain. The whole chain can be dependent of the efficiency of all the lawyers. One slow link will slow down the whole chain. Therefore if your or someone else’s lawyer has a slow response rate, it can have negative implications for the chain even leading to it breaking down if one party gives up on their buyer or seller.
Expense
How much a lawyer charges can be an indicator of how good they are going to be. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for and this applies to lawyers as well. So my advice would be not to go for the cheapest, just because they have quoted the least.
The exception to this is if an established firm gives you a low price to get you in as a client, which has happened to me for accountancy work ( in year 2 their prices then shot up though). But this is less likely for property conveyance work which usually just involves one off transactions rather than regular work to them from you.
Another exception is that high prices do not necessarily mean you will get the best service. Larger city firms have higher charge out rates. So you may be paying a large bill, but actually getting someone junior at a large firm to do your work, who may usually do large corporate transactions rather than residential property deals as their day to day job.
Experience
Like all jobs, the more experience someone has, the better they may be. As above, in certain firms you may have someone junior doing your work as opposed to a partner. I would always prefer an experienced partner in a smaller firm than a paralegal in a larger firm.
Clarity
The ability to write and speak clearly is another indicator of a good lawyer. Some may be verbose, others may speak like they have swallowed a nineteenth century dictionary, others may just ramble on. A good lawyer needs to be able to communicate so that the client understands quickly what they are saying, not to impress their client with their level of vocabulary.
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