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83% of conveyancers either don't have a quote tool on their firm's website, or don't know if they do, according to our October monthly poll.

In August's monthly poll, we asked conveyancers in which areas they were aiming to win new business over the next year; around a third of respondents answered that they were keen to attract new customers online and through their websites.

However, in October, when we asked conveyancers whether their firm's website had a quote tool to help capitalise on their prospective customers, it emerged that just 17% of conveyancers could state that their firm's website had such a tool.

Each month, we run a poll on opinions and trends which help serve as a barometer for the industry and publish the results in our newsletter. October's question asks 'does your firm's website have a quote tool for your customers?'

In august, when we asked in which areas conveyancers were looking to win new business over the next year, around a third of respondents answered that they wanted to attract new business online. A key part of winning new instructions online is ensuring that it is as easy as possible for potential customers to learn about your services and fees on your website.

The poll is now closed, to view the results please click here.

The topic of infrastructure continues to keep our politicians busy with discussions around the budget for HS2, where and when a new runway should be added in the south and if there should be more projects to improve the economy, but what about homebuyers?

Clearly many of these projects are both high profile and long term, and it would be naïve to suggest that anyone buying a house near an airport or railway line is going to be ignorant of its presence and the fact that it will impact upon the property in some way, for better or for worse. What is challenging is that these issues are usually subjective and the reaction to them will vary from individual to individual but, as a conveyancer, how can you tell unless you can inform them?

When the SRA published their Risk Outlook 2014-15 in July of this year to assess the key risks to firms in carrying out their regulatory objectives there was a new entry in the Risk Outlook chart compared to 2013, namely bogus law firms.

The other four including misuse of money, money laundering controls, a failure of service and diversity within the workplace remain, so where has this new threat emerged from?

The results are in. When we asked conveyancers from across the industry "Which sort of conveyancing work is your firm most focused on attracting over the next 12 months?", most respondents told us that they were targeting high street work.

In fact, almost three times as many conveyancers were interested in pursuing high street work than national panel work, whilst a surprisingly large number of the poll answered that they wanted to attract further business through online and digital channels.

While there are pros and cons to each method, it seems that most conveyancers opted for the traditional approach of gaining new instructions. However, as previously mentioned, there are ways to freshen up your firm's approach to winning high street business.

Law firms need to be aware of their attractiveness to criminals who seek to launder the proceeds of crime through conveyancing transactions. Image copyright Images Money.

The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) is stepping up its efforts to ensure that law firms do not become embroiled in money laundering activity and are compliant with the various regulations and legislation associated with anti-money laundering compliance.

In their Risk Outlook 2014-15, published in July, the SRA highlighted how law firms are an attractive vehicle through which to launder the proceeds of crime, such is the magnitude of funds being transferred by legal practices.

Property remains by far and away the work type that attracts the most claims against solicitors. Over the last few years, property claims represent around 40% of all claims, although this peaked at 60% in 2010.

Due to the high level of claims, it is no surprise then that underwriters rate both residential and commercial conveyancing as the highest-rated work that a law firm undertakes.

Accreditation such Lexcel and CQS will be viewed positively, but the single biggest factor is that risk management cannot just a tick-box exercise; it has to be engrained within the culture of the firm.

Strong case management processes and procedures, case supervision and checklists are all important and, with PII renewal on the horizon, it may be timely to let underwriters know how you manage various risks in the conveyancing process.

There are many ways to help reduce the level of risk associated with conveyancing transactions, here's five of them:

Despite the buoyancy of the property market, the challenge persists for conveyancers to remain competitive and attract new business. We want to know where your firm is planning to focus its time over the coming months and what you think the advantages and pitfalls of each approach might be. Answer the poll:

Outcome Focused Regulation or OFR has now been with us since October 2011 and over the last three years law firms have adapted to and now operate effectively within the guidance of the new regime.

Here at TM we want to ensure our services match the high levels of practice expected since the introduction of Outcome Focused Regulation and so we have also been adapting and looking at how we develop our services to you.

Below are some of the issues and risk questions raised by Outcome Focused Regulation and how TM can help manage them.

Since the turn of the year crown and sinkholes have plagued the country, causing significant damage to property as well as inflicting substantial costs and inconvenience upon property owners.

The UK's foremost authority on the subject, Dr Clive Edmonds from Peter Brett Associates, spoke to Begonia Filgueira on the threat that these natural phenomena pose.