Graduate Conveyancer with 2 years experience - would you?

htcclub

Would you instruct a conveyance solicitor, where the person on the case is a recent Bachelors law grad, with 2 years experience, and the senior helping her chooses to answer only 1 of 3 simple basic questions asked (I mean really...) Is it worth paying 150 more for another firm, more experienced solicitors. BUT bear in mind I don't want a particularly fast conveyancing process so I can reduce my debts with each payslip.

user1977

Yes. I mean, how much experience do you think your instruction actually needs? How are they supposed to get any experience?

Alter_ego

Buying or selling?

TripleH

In law and accounting a lot of the work is done by junior / trainee staff and reviewed by more senior staff.

At the end of the day you are 'presented a file' that should have been reviewed and signed off by an appropriate member of staff. If it goes wrong, that is why there is professional indemnity insurance.

I have met people who are 'qualified by experience' who can do a better job than those who have qualifications coming out their ears.

Megaross

Absolutely not.

A good solicitor is worth paying for - delays can be incredy costly and an inexperienced solicitor will take longer, may fail to pick up on things early on or may not be as proactive as an old hand would be.

Even having their work checked will take longer.

Much as I'd like for them to get that experience I'm afraid I just wouldn't. I definitely wouldn't on the basis of money - it's one of, if not the biggest transaction you'll ever conduct in your life.

Hire a good local solicitor with decades of experience dealing with houses in the local area and your legal work will go smoothly.

Of course you're only as quick as your slowest solicitor but really - would you want it to be yours? I certainly wouldn't, too much at stake.

Don't forget you may not be in a rush but taking a long time can mean higher costs in the long run - if the chain falls apart for example, or something happens to someone in the chain forcing them to drop out. Anything can go wrong so you're far better off racing to the finish.

TripleH

@megaross there will still be quite a lot of work done by junior staff. They will prepare the file for the experienced solicitor to review, which I expect will happen in the Op's case.

Besides when I sold my first flat, my highly qualified and experienced solicitor got charged with theft and his assistant ended up finalising the sale.

Megaross

Oh I don't doubt much of the prep work us done by junior staff, but my solicitors assistant is pretty good as well.

Just saying cheaping out on your conveyancing could cost you a lot more when all is said and done.

Not work the risk in my opinion considering what you're dealing with.

JGB1955

When I sold my father's house (with EPOA) it was done by the conveyancing department of a local solicitor's practice.  I was given the name of the lead solicitor, but told that my day-to-day contact would be with the conveyancer.  No problems with that.  I consequently DID have a small issue in that they had retained the original of my father's EPOA and once he had died I 'needed' to recover it and send it to the OPG.  (This was all during lockdown) It arrived back in the post a couple of days later - I just copied the lead solicitor in, so he knew what was happening.

TBG01

delays can be incredy costly and an inexperienced solicitor will take longer

Contrary to popular belief, a lot of the delays aren't down to the Solicitor. 

lookstraightahead

Yes of course. Especially if they're being overseen.
If I became a solicitor at 50 would you ask me how much experience I had ?

when I got divorced years ago I firstly saw an elderly solicitor who told me I should have been a good wife !  The young solicitor I used in the end was fair and quite frankly brilliant. 

p00hsticks

If they're a solicitor at all then you could argue that they're  more qualified that the vast majority of ( licensed ) conveyancers out there - although that doesn't necessarily mean that they're better or worse.