Solicitors and conflict of interest - do we use someone else?

*mudangel*

Hmm, advice needed:

Buyers of our property have have instructed someone at the same law firm as us. Obviously, we're using a different solicitor from the one they're using, but ours has emailed us to see if we are comfortable with the arrangement.

On the one hand, it might keep things ticking over nice and quickly. And as sales and purchases go, it should all be straightforward - relatively new houses, no foreseeable nightmares etc. But then there's the worry about potential conflict of interests.

I've not been through this process before, so thought I'd once again call upon the great wisdom of these forums for guidance.

Very grateful for any advice!

mrsmchapman

i would like to think that the solicitors would remain professional and individual to clients at all times.

I'm sure there could be alot of for and against, but its how comfortable you feel with your solicitor, have you used them before?

*mudangel*

mrsmchapman wrote: »

I'm sure there could be alot of for and against, but its how comfortable you feel with your solicitor, have you used them before?

Thanks. No, never used them. The particular firm has been recommended by a number of people - they only deal with conveyancing. I feel pretty comfortable with the solicitor we're intending to use, so bit reluctant to have to look for someone else.

theartfullodger

I'd find another firm - The current lot will be too motivated to close the deal & get 2 sets of fees... and may, perhaps (or perhaps not..) fail to check everything thoroughly in their desire for £££££££

Not worth the risk in my book: Oh, and check everything whoever you use does & says & sends... they ain;t perfect!!!

DaftyDuck

I have never worried about using the same firm of solicitors as a buyer/seller, although I was, in those cases, reusing the same solicitor, and they were second in, as it were.

It was a largish firm in a small North Yorkshire town. There were no problems flagged up in either sales. The solicitors had a good reputation in the town, and would have moved heaven and earth to preserve it.

I do always try for very speedy transactions (much less chance of any party changing their mind) and using the same firm speeds things up no end (although you may still need to crack the whip, they have NO excuse not to send/receive documents quickly). There may also be cost savings...

Mr_Moo_2

Tricky one. SRA guidance covers this - in the typically "fuzzy" way that outcomes focused regulatory guides do - have a look through this - http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/freedom-in-practice/ofr/ofr-quick-guide.page#ofr-qa-a - the Q&A covers this, have a look through and then ask your Solicitor how they will deliver what is required of them.

jackomdj

Our last purchase we used the same company. Made things a lot easier.

However, it was a fairly new property, on a large estate so less likely to have issues than some other transactions could.

G_M

I don't believe that it necessarily makes things 'smoother'. It may, but if it does I'd be even more worried about the conflict of interest!

Personally I would not agree. I would want a solicitor who was 100% on my side, and had no other influences on him, however subtle those may be.

Suppose he considers raising a concern, and the 'other' solicitor makes some off-the-cuff comment to his colleagues down the pub after work about this 'unecessary' concern which gets backto him, so he decides to ignore it.

Worse, suppose he's angling for promotion and t'other guy says.....

OK- these may seem unlikely, or far-fetched, but why risk it?

I would contact your buyers (direct or via EA) and explain you are alreay using that firm, you are uncomfortable proceeding with them using same firm, and ask them to select another. After all, you got there first!

megadishu

There is a legal policy to cover this and only a certain type of solicitor can do this. Sorry do not know what the regulation is. However, if recommended as a good firm I would use them but ask them directly about conflict of interest in writing.

I would far prefer a reputable firm. A solicitor represents their client and that is confidential to that solicitor. Reputation is everything. Not much good to them doing something illegal and being teamed to court over it ... Somehow will not look good.

princeofpounds

This is something which is often permitted as long as it is separate solicitors within the same firm with certain practices in place (eg they can't let each other access the documentation etc.)

It normally doesn't cause too much issue, I think. Solicitors are not like estate agents, they don't get paid a success fee on a deal. If anything it might be in their interest to raise problems and charge you for more hours to sort them.

The main time to be careful would be if one client is significantly more valuable to the firm than another. This normally arises when a developer tries to get you to use their preferred solicitor 'to smooth the process'.

By all means ask your solicitor about how they deal with this, but I wouldn't freak out.

<sebb>

It wouldn't bother me at all. It is simply not worth the solicitors career to breach the MANY professional (and probably internal) guidelines they need to follow. This will be flagged as a potential conflict, and will therefore be subject to much more scrutiny at audit than other cases, and if anything untoward is found, anyone involved will in serious hot water.