X-Press Legal Services has launched a new Leadership in Law CPD event aimed at conveyancing leaders, with the first session focusing on operational leadership, professional indemnity issues and team performance. The article also highlights growing compliance pressures in conveyancing, including AML checks, ID verification, source of funds scrutiny, leasehold reform, SDLT, Land Registry practice and fraud prevention.
HMRC is reminding eligible tax advisers, including conveyancers who submit stamp duty returns for clients, to complete mandatory registration before 18 August 2026. The new regime is intended to improve transparency and may restrict advisers who fail to register from acting on behalf of clients, with potential financial penalties for non-compliance.
The article reports that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued significant fines to conveyancing firms for anti-money laundering breaches, with risk assessment failures and weak source of funds checks featuring prominently. It also notes that the SRA is revisiting historical matters, reinforcing the need for contemporaneous, well-evidenced compliance records.
The article warns that AI-enabled onboarding and marketing language can blur the distinction between Source of Funds and Source of Wealth checks in conveyancing. It explains that while AI can improve the presentation and review of financial evidence, it does not change the scope of the underlying AML check or remove the need for professional judgement.
