It's National Conveyancing Week!

It’s National Conveyancing Week. I am sure you haven’t missed it. It was squeezed between “National pork pie Day” and “International Check your Feet for Verrucas Week”. There’s a problem about the scheduling for 2025 as it clashes with National Snake week and you can’t have 2 National celebrations for the same profession in the same week accordingly to the powers that be. There’s going to be an arm wrestling contest to decide who gets the gig. 

Anyway to mark the event I am sure you have all had the bunting up and on Thursday everyone was out in the street banging their saucepans to celebrate the unsung heroes of the legal world. Or not. It’s all well intentioned of course but the problem has become that the profession only looks inward to market this. It promotes the week with awards and dinners and marketing puff but the public is none the wiser. They still don’t really know what conveyancing is or why they need it. 

It’s curious because conveyancing is the bit of legal work most of the public use at some point in the lives. Most people never use an employment lawyer, a few decide they’ve married the wrong person  and need a divorce whilst just a handful of the population want to do battle with their employers at a tribunal. But around 70% of the population own a house and on average homeowners move every 6 years. So why don’t they know more, and appreciate these kind hearted souls who take them through the minefield of searches, mortgage offers, covenants an estate agents? 

I have the solution- a hit BBC tv drama “The Conveyancer”. Programmes like Silks, Rumpole, and so on promote an understanding to the public of criminal law or divorce. Look at what the ITV series did for the wronged post office staff!. No- one has ever done it for conveyancing. I’ve already thought up a couple of scripts. A lady opens an episode crying hysterically on some wasteland in Liverpool under grey skies. The Conveyancer stops his quirky coloured Vauxhall Astra to comfort her. “It seems there might be a rentcharge on my house and I just can’t sort it. I live in fear of a statutory lease” she sobs. “Don’t worry - I’ll find you a solution” says The Conveyancer. “ I’ve got an indemnity policy for that, or even a Deed of Variation”. He’s saved the day, and we can revel in the drama as he beats off the resistance of the evil Covenant holder probably involving a blistering email, car chase and phone call. Another episode could be “The case of the missing double glazing certificate AND boiler service report”. The poor first time buyer just didn’t know what to do but The Conveyancer sorts it in seconds for them with his searches and expert recommendation. Quite a short episode that one. I can’t wait to write the episode on flats in high rise blocks or the lost title deeds. True life gritty drama.

Sarah Lancashire and Daniel Craig are both now at loose ends to play the lead or perhaps an inside national conveyancing figure like Rob Hailstone or Richard Mathias. I would cast MT conveyancer Tom Bexhell- tall, dark, moderately handsome he has the advantage of already doing the job. He also has flaws that could be woven into the drama like supporting Chelsea and enjoying darts. TV is the only way to get conveyancing into the nations minds. Sorted.