Tag Archives: Conveyancing

Access Legal from Shoosmiths announces that it will provide free wills for Marie Cure Cancer Care charity

Access Legal from Shoosmiths has announced that it will become the national free wills provider for end of life care charity Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Access Legal will support Marie Curie’s Free Wills Scheme by writing wills for anyone over the age of 55. The service will be provided with the hope that some people will include a gift in their wills to the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity; however, there is no obligation to do so.

In addition to Access Legal from Shoosmiths, other law firms and will-writing providers will continue to work for the charity as well.

Tevor George, Partner and Head of Access Legal’s Wills, Family and Wealth Team said: “We feel privileged and very proud to be associated with such a highly respected UK charity in this way.

“We’ll work closely with Marie Curie Cancer Care to ensure that both the charity and its supporters benefit from the free Will writing service our knowledgeable legal advisers are able to provide.

“This is a new and exciting relationship, and one we hope will last for many years to come.”

Marie Curie Cancer Care is dedicated to providing quality end of life care to patients and their family members. In addition to its home nursing service and nine hospices, it also supports terminally ill patients with more logistical advance care planning- often with the help of its partners. Advance care planning may include making advanced funeral arrangements, setting up an advance directive and writing a living will.

Access Legal is highly qualified to take on this charitable endeavour, as it devotes a large portion of its consumer services to wills, family and wealth. It offers legal advice on probate, making a will, contesting a will, inheritance tax and estate administration. The Access Legal website features will-related case studies, useful legal guides and an extensive FAQ section on wills and family law.

Via EPR Network
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Access Legal From Shoosmiths Secures Law Society CQS Status

Access Legal from Shoosmiths has secured the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), making it the largest law firm in England and Wales to do so.

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) requires practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is open only to members of the Law Society who meet the demanding standards set by the scheme, and has the support of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Building Societies’ Association, Legal Ombudsman, and the Association of British Insurers.

Desmond Hudson, Chief Executive at the Law Society said: “Access Legal from Shoosmiths’ accreditation illustrates that CQS is an initiative that is suitable for firms of all sizes.

“Firms that have gone through the CQS application and assessment process have gained the quality mark in recognition of the high standards they have met in residential conveyancing. CQS is the benchmark for the conveyancing sector, and Access Legal from Shoosmiths’ commitment to securing it is further acknowledgement of the high standards the scheme embodies.”

David Parton, partner at Access Legal from Shoosmiths added: “We’re delighted to have secured CQS accreditation, which is recognition that this particular consumer service meets the benchmark for conveyancing set by the Law Society.

“It enables our current and future residential conveyancing clients to identify the excellent service level we provide, at what is often a stressful time for many people.

“Our clients receive a reliable, efficient service, which is at the heart of our ethos and the CQS standard.”

Access Legal from Shoosmiths assists clients in preparing to move house and provide legal advice for whatever issues they may encounter. Its solicitors are experts in the conveyancing process and its services are available on a no-move no-fee basis.

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Osbornes Solicitors LLP Receives Quality Mark From Law Society’s Quality Conveyancing Scheme

Osbornes solicitors, based in Pratt Street in Camden, is pleased to announce that our application to become a member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme has been successful. The Law Society’s Transaction Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is a quality standard for residential conveyancing practices.

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme was launched in January 2011, since when over 900 law firms have applied for the quality mark. Out of these firms fewer than 300 have been admitted thus far.

The CQS is a scheme designed to give clients (buyers, sellers and lenders) confidence in the standard of conveyancing work they will receive by providing a recognisable kitemark for accredited conveyancing firms. It is based on a new Law Society Protocol which aims to achieve consistent standards across the sector in order to speed up the conveyancing process and provide more certainty for buyers and sellers.

Jan Atkinson, Partner and Head of the property law Department at Osbornes commented:

“Receiving this quality mark from the Law Society strengthens the existing reputation that our property team has of providing high quality advice and service to its clients. This independent quality mark from the Law Society demonstrates that the members of the property team at Osbornes provide an expert service to their clients.”

For further information about this quality mark and to find out what property services we offer clients please contact Maria Elliot or Justine Simms on 0207 485 8811. Alternatively you can e-mail on mariaelliot@osbornes.net or justinesimms@osbornes.net. You can also visit our website at www.osbornes.net.

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Shoosmiths Appoints David Palmer as New Head of Access Legal

Shoosmiths has announced it has appointed David Palmer has the new head of its consumer legal services operation Access Legal. David has been appointed to drive Access Legal forward after a successful first 18 months.

David will be taking over from the current head of consumer services, Judith Dorkins, who has worked for Shoosmiths for 20 years, and spent months helping to develop and launch Access Legal.

Judith Dorkins, who is retiring to pursue other interests, commented on David taking over from her: “David is an experienced business leader who had developed success across a wide range of sectors and for some of the most challenging and innovative international companies.

“He has just the skills we were looking for to take Access Legal to the next level in the journey to become a leading and trusted provider of high quality legal services to consumers.”

David Palmer, new head of consumer services, Access Legal, commented: “This is a wonderful challenge at what is an exciting time for the consumer legal services market. To be the leading player as we intend in this brave new world we must offer legal expertise coupled with traditional service values, delivered in a modern way that deploys the best practices from other fast-moving consumer sectors. I’m looking forward to making this happen.”

Before moving to Access Legal, David has enjoyed a wide ranging career, including roles such as director of the UK personal cards business of Citigroup, international marketing head for US private equity and investment banking group Robert W Baird, and head of personal customer marketing for Royal Bank of Scotland’s card division.

Access Legal was first launched in February 2010, and marked its first year anniversary at the start of 2011 with an impressive set of launch-year statistics.

It recorded a 178% increase in direct enquiries, saw web enquiries up more than 100%, staff referrals and member claims climbed from 1% to 11% and it experienced 25 times more enquiries through recommendations.

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Access Legal Named Best Provider Of Home Purchase And Sale Conveyancing Services

Access Legal, the law firm from Shoosmiths, has been named best provider of home purchase and sale conveyancing services by the Conveyancing Alliance.

The national law firm came top in a survey conducted by the Conveyancing Alliance which was voted for by estate agents. Users of the Conveyancing Alliance portal ranked law firms on several service standards including communication levels, speed of delivery and client feedback.

Client feedback was a key area for Access Legal, as it is very customer focused and aims to treat people as individuals rather than just another case.

Karen Stewart, partner at Access Legal, commented: “Only once they’ve been carefully vetted can law firms join the panel to receive work from Conveyancing Alliance, so we’ve already gone a long way to proving ourselves. To then be acclaimed best service provider by estate agents backs to the hilt what we say about only providing the very best levels of service.”

Conveyancing Alliance surveyed all its users, who are all mortgage advisors and estate agents, on the service levels received from the 11 law firms on its panel. Users of the Conveyancing Alliance portal then ranked law firms on service standards, which lead to Access Legal being awarded the top spot on the survey by estate agents in England and Wales.

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The Co-Operative Legal Services Provide Will Writing Service

The Co-operative Legal Services (CLS) has teamed up with Emma’s Diary, the leading website for pregnant women and new mums, to provide an exclusive Will writing service.

Through extensive research amongst its members, Emma’s Diary understands what mums want and has recognised the need to provide further information on writing a will, which is one of the top things that parents do after having a baby. As a result, Emma’s Diary has chosen to work with CLS as its sole Will provider and will be promoting this service to all its members via the Money Matters finance section of the website.

Eddie Ryan, Managing Director of CLS said: “Emma’s Diary understands how writing a Will protects its members and their families.

“They wanted to work with a partner whose trusted, ethical and professional approach would ensure that writing a Will would be a positive experience whilst delivering the required legal expertise needed for such an important decision.”

Emma’s Diary has a membership base of just over 1.3 million members, which attracts appropriately 100,000 unique users on its website every month.

The Co-operative Legal Services provide a range of legal services to members and customers covering Will writing, Probate & Estate Administration, Conveyancing, Employment and Personal Injury Claims. A wide range of free legal advice is also provided.

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