Rachael L.
About me
| Rachael L. | |
| Law | |
| Law | |
| Undergraduate | |
| 2011 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Residential Conveyancing Clerk | |
| Quality Solicitors Punch Robson | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Legal services | |
| 2012 |
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A day in the life of a Residential Conveyancing Clerk in the United Kingdom
My career history
Law Degree at York University - 2:1 Bachelor of Laws with Honours degree
Legal Practice Course at the College of Law in York - Distinction
Legal Secretary at Kitching, Kneale and Co in Great Ayton, Stokesley
Residential Conveyancing Clerk October - present.
Courses taken since graduation
Legal Practice Course (2011-2012)
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I would like to obtain a Training Contract at my current employment, and hopefully progress within the Conveyancing department or explore a future in the family or private client sector.
My advice to students considering work
Ensure you have a very good CV and a covering letter which is adaptable. Don't send the same covering letter to all places, show you are different and treat each application as a new process. Show your skills in as few words as possible, leaving them to be discused further in interview. Use them to intrigue the employer in wanting to know more about you.
What I do
I provide clients with quotations for new residential transactions depending on whether they are selling or buying a house. I then provide them with our initial welcome letter and pack, and make initial contact with the Estate Agent and other solicitors involved. On sale files I start to prepare the contract pack for the Buyers Solicitors once instructions have been received from our client. This entails drafting the contracts, sending protocol forms and obtaining office copy entries from the Land Registry. On purchase files, once we received the contract pack it is checked by the solicitor and I use the plan provided to apply for the relevant searches required by the client. Enquiries are then raised with the other sides solicitors or sent to the client for answers on a sale transaction. If the client is requiring a mortgage, an offer will be received and this will be reported on to the client when the searches are received. I will prepare the pack to be sent with this including any relevant stamp duty form, joint tenancy forms and whether there is a gift of deposit. I check all ID received by clients and proof of funding as per money laundering checks required. I help run the files from this point until they are ready for exchange where I will then correspond with the other sides solicitor and exchange contracts with a set completion date. On completion I either send the money to the other side solicitor or confirm receipt, and then deal with all exchange and completion letters, and bill the client accordingly.
Skills I use and how I developed them
My qualification helped a lot. Without the Law Degree and knowledge it provided, I would have struggled to understand the reasons behind the procedures involved in conveyancing. I didn't choose conveyancing as my subjects but this didn't hinder my job at all.
Extracurricular skills:
I obtained a lot of practical skills on the LPC which have helped in writing letters to clients, and speaking to clients on the phone or in person. A lot of skills have been picked up whilst working in practice and have been honed by the environment I work in and the people I work alongside.
What I like most
Helping people buying their first, second or even third house and giving them the good news on completion that they can now move in and the house is theirs.
What I like least
I don't enjoy giving clients bad news when things have been delayed, their buyer has withdrawn or the seller has removed the property from the market.