tm blog

We are pleased to welcome Mark Gilbert as our new Chief Technology Officer.

Mark joins us at the start of an exciting chapter for the company, following the launch of our new tmconvey platform earlier this year. He will be a key player in driving the development of the new platform, making good use of his expertise in creating competitive advantage through customer-focused solutions. 

More specifically, he will be utilising his strengths and experience by taking ownership of tmgroup’s product delivery roadmap, and ensuring greater collaboration between product development, marketing, and sales functions through key customer channels.

Mark brings a strong record of accomplishment to the role of Chief Technology Officer, and has most recently held senior positions at JATO Dynamics Limited and Worth Global Style Network (WGSN) Limited. 

His extensive experience in transforming, innovating and underpinning business growth, as well as combining mobility, big data, social media, cloud and digital automation, make him well-suited to such a dynamic role.

Commenting on his new role, Mark Gilbert said:

“I am delighted to join tmgroup as CTO. What struck me from the outset was the customer-first mind set, energy and passion demonstrated by all teams to deliver innovative, intuitive and cutting-edge solutions to our customers. 

Technology lies at the heart of the business and I have been privileged with technical leadership of successful data-driven, technology centric businesses over many years. I look forward to bringing my experience into tmgroup and together with the skills and experience of the team, help deliver continued success.”

Commenting on Mark’s new position, Managing Director Paul Albone said:

“It’s wonderful to welcome someone with such experience to the tm family. Mark joins tm at an exciting time as we continue to rollout the new tmconvey platform together with many new service offerings.”

Mark has extensive experience in driving business growth and creating competitive advantage, and I am confident that he will be a great addition to the Senior Management Team as we embrace this exciting new chapter.”

The European Union’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (EU4MLD) has been implemented into UK law as of 26th June 2017. Relevant legislation includes the Money Laundering Regulations, Policing and Crime Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act. The directive includes fundamental changes to AML procedures at law firms, including changes to Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and a strong focus on risk assessments.

What is changing?

Under EU3MLD and the current Money Laundering Regulations, firms could automatically apply simplified CDD under certain circumstances. Under the new regulations, firms will be able to use these circumstances as a partial justification for simplified CDD only after conducting a documented risk assessment.

Exemption from enhanced CDD is no longer automatic, a decision to apply simplified CDD will need to be evidenced by a documented risk assessment and include PEP and Financial Sanctions screening. Local politically-exposed persons (PEPs) must now be identified and will be subject to the same scrutiny as foreign PEPs. The regulations direct firms to develop risk-based policies, and practitioners to conduct client risk assessments as a part of their CDD.

UK regulations already incorporate a risk-based approach, but the new directive goes considerably further requiring documented client risk assessments.

For law firms this will mean:

• Demonstrating that risk assessments are conducted and kept up-to date, including; clients, countries or geographic areas, products, services, relationships, transactions or delivery channels.

• Policies and procedures that take the firm’s risk assessment into consideration.

• Testing of the internal policies, controls and procedures.

• Training staff in conducting Risk Assessments, CDD and ongoing due-diligence.

• Compliance reporting, electronic and hard copy records management.

Law firms with majority-owned subsidiaries in other countries where the minimum AML requirements are not as stringent, must also implement the same procedures with the subsidiaries. 

Additionally, for all businesses, CDD will be required when trading goods in cash with a value over €10,000 (rather than €15,000).

What can law firms do to prepare?

• Review existing providers of CDD services for compliance with the new regulations.

• Review integrating AML risk assessment and compliance systems to reduce costs, streamline and unify your procedures firm wide.

• Implement staff training.

• Money laundering reporting officers (MLROs) should;

• Perform and document an internal risk assessment.
• Update policies to incorporate Client Risk Assessments, on-going due diligence, documentary evidence and compliance reporting, to reflect the directive.
• Audit and test procedures.

• Policies should be reviewed and approved by senior management.

With thanks to Greg Roach, Director of Searches Group Limited

tmgroup are pleased to announce that the new Groundsure Avista environmental report is now available on tmconvey. 

This concise report intelligently filters datasets to produce a clear and comprehensive risk report for the residential market. Avista also offers a new level of clarity by only presenting conveyancers with the key issues requiring further attention.

This helps conveyancers to save time, as they don’t have to sift through a lengthy report in order to determine next steps and key findings; recommended actions are clearly visible, ready for a discussion with their clients. 

Each report also includes an easy to read summary page for peace of mind, confirming the full list of data points checked against the property. 

Key features include:

• Seven reports in one: Avista combines seven environmental searches covering the key residential property purchases risks, including 10 years of planning applications. This helps to minimise the risk of missed issues, as well as reduce delays caused by ordering further reports.

• Improved accuracy and pass rates: Avista reports are based on Land Registry polygon data as standard for the highest level of accuracy, with 106 million data points being analysed to significantly improve pass rates. 

• Clear and concise recommendations: Clearly signposted data with unambiguous recommendations leaves customers better informed, without being overwhelmed by confusing jargon. 

• The average report is less than 20 pages long: The average Avista report is less than 20 pages long, making it simple for conveyancers to hone in on what’s important. 

• Review next steps with a quick glance: The Avista Action Alert saves transaction time and trouble by providing a simple visual guide to the complexity of the environmental factors associated with a property. 

About Groundsure Avista

Groundsure is a leading provider of environmental reports including land contamination, flooding and ground stability. Avista is their latest product, offering a comprehensive risk report with seven key environmental searches.

The new Groundsure Avista environmental report is now available to order through tmconvey.

You can watch a webinar and find out more about the new Avista report here.

You can view a 'pass' sample report here, and a 'fail' sample report here. 

For more information, contact your Account Manager, or call Helpdesk on 0844 249 9200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk.

tmgroup are pleased to announce that the new Groundsure Avista environmental report will be available on tmconvey from Tuesday 6th June 2017. 

This concise report will intelligently filter datasets to produce a clear and comprehensive risk report for the residential market. 

Each report will include an easy to read summary page for peace of mind, confirming the full list of data points checked against the property. Avista also offers a new level of clarity by only presenting conveyancers with the key issues requiring further attention.

This will help conveyancers to save time, as they will not have to sift through a lengthy report in order to determine next steps and key findings; recommended actions will be clearly visible, ready for a discussion with their clients. 

Key features include:

• Seven reports in one: Avista combines seven environmental searches covering the key residential property purchases risks, including 10 years of planning applications. This will help to minimise the risk of missed issues, as well as reduce delays caused by ordering further reports.

• Improved accuracy and pass rates: Avista reports are based on Land Registry polygon data as standard for the highest level of accuracy, with 106 million data points being analysed to significantly improve pass rates. 

• Clear and concise recommendations: Clearly signposted data with unambiguous recommendations will leave customers better informed, without being overwhelmed by confusing jargon. 

• The average report is less than 20 pages long: The average Avista report is less than 20 pages long, which will make it simple for conveyancers to hone in on what’s important. 

• Review next steps with a quick glance: The Avista Action Alert saves transaction time and trouble by providing a simple visual guide to the complexity of the environmental factors associated with a property.

About Groundsure Avista

Groundsure is a leading provider of environmental reports including land contamination, flooding and ground stability. Avista is their latest product, offering a comprehensive risk report with seven key environmental searches.

The new Groundsure Avista environmental report will be available to order from tmconvey on Tuesday 6th June 2017. 

You can view a 'pass' sample report here, and a 'fail' sample report here. 

For more information, contact your Account Manager, or call Helpdesk on 0844 249 9200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk.

In line with the changes in UK law in relation to the European Union’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (EU4MLD), AML Search v4 will be released soon.

AML Search v4 builds upon AML Search v2's data analytics to include fully automated Risk Assessments, Compliance Reporting, conflict checking, documentary evidence management, on-going monitoring and automated record keeping.

Here, we’ve answered some frequently asked questions to help you understand exactly what these changes and implications mean for your firm:

What do the regulations mean? 

• There is no longer an automatic exemption from undertaking Enhanced Due Diligence

If, like many firms, you simply take a copy of a Client's identity documents, your procedures and processes are likely to have to change significantly to be able demonstrate your compliance with the new regulations and laws. 

The regulations are clear – there is no longer an automatic exemption from undertaking Enhanced Due Diligence, as opposed to Simplified Due Diligence, which has often been carried out by simply obtaining a copy of a Client's Identity documents, for example a Passport and Driving License. 

• Firms will be required to evidence they have identified the Client and screened them against alert sources

After 26th June, you will need to demonstrate compliance by being able to evidence that you have risk assessed clients in accordance with the regulatory requirements. Therefore, clients who would have previously been on-boarded using Simplified Due Diligence must be Risk Assessed, with a minimum requirement of documenting and confirming the Clients Identity and electronically screening them for Financial Sanctions and Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) – including UK nationals.

• Additional requirements for on-going due diligence monitoring

There are additional requirements for the period of time that your firm will have to be able to demonstrate and deliver up to regulators your compliance records in relation to specific clients, on-going due diligence monitoring and how long records may be kept. 

What are the penalties for failing to comply?

The penalties for failing to comply with obligations under the new regulations have been increased. 

In addition to penalties that can be imposed by regulators and other legislation, the Policing and Crime Act 2017 has increased fines up to £1,000,000 and prison sentences from 2 to 7 years; where 'the person has breached a prohibition, or failed to comply with an obligation, that is imposed by or under financial sanctions legislation'. 

Click here for more information about the European Union’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (EU4MLD)

How does AML Search v4 support compliance?

• Regulatory Compliance

AML Search v4 has been designed to meet and exceed Anti-Money Laundering compliance requirements including but not limited to;

• Fourth European Money Laundering Directive (EU 4MLD)

• United Kingdom Money Laundering Regulations/Laws

• Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG)

• The Law Society

• The Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA)

• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

• International Bar Association (IBA)

• Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

• Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML)

• Sarbanes–Oxley

• Risk Assessments

Regulations make it mandatory for firms to carry out Risk Assessments on their Clients as a part of their Client Due Diligence (CDD).

AML Search v4 automates Customer Due Diligence Risk Assessments to enable your users to simply and quickly enter Client data, include documentary evidence and carry out a Risk Assessment and Simplified or Enhanced Due Diligence in a few minutes.

• The CDD Record

AML Search v4 introduces a unified view of your Client Due Diligence (CDD). Both Individual (Personal) and Organisations (Non-Personal) CDD records are contained in one fully searchable view.

The CDD record for a Client contains your Risk Assessments, Client Data, Documentary Evidence, and Client Relationships – which aids in your conflict checking and provides a complete audit trail, making it easy to evidence your regulatory compliance.

Click here for more information about AML Search v4 

Are existing AML v2 Searches compliant?

Yes. 

AML Search v2 provides Enhanced Customer Due Diligence Searches which are fully compliant with the new regulations. There are however other changes that you need to consider including how you will carry out Risk Assessments, On-Going CDD, record keeping and reporting in order to demonstrate your firm’s compliance.

Can I continue to use AML Search v2?

Yes. 

It is recommended that you review your Risk Assessment procedures in line with the new regulations. The regulations stipulate that there is no longer an exemption from Enhanced Due Diligence. Therefore, clients who would have previously been on-boarded using Simplified Due Diligence must be Risk Assessed, with a minimum requirement of documenting and confirming the Clients Identity and electronically screening them for Financial Sanctions and Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) – including UK nationals. 

AML Search v2 already provides all of the features for enhanced CDD with the exception of documented Client Risk Assessments which must be carried out manually by firms if using AML Search v2 – AML Search v4 provides fully automated Risk Assessments.

Should I review our Risk Assessment Criteria and Procedures?

Yes. 

There are significant changes in the regulations as to how you are required to Risk Assess your Clients, carry out On-going Due Diligence, how quickly firms must demonstrate their compliant procedures and how long records can be kept.

Why should I upgrade from AML Search v2 to AML Search v4?

AML Search v4 extends the features of AML Search v2 adding robust compliance tools to reduce the time and cost to firms of implementing, maintaining and running compliant AML procedures. 

These include automated Client Risk Assessments, Simplified and Enhanced Due Diligence for individuals and organisations (UK and International). 

This means that you can complete the process of carrying out a Risk Assessment and Customer Due Diligence by running an AML v4 Risk Assessment, ensuring you can demonstrate compliant procedures across all users. 

AML Search v4 also includes your real-time compliance status and reporting, on-going due diligence monitoring, which ensures your client due diligence is always up-to-date, document, file and archive management to ensure you meet the new record keeping criteria.

With thanks to Greg Roach, Director of Searches Group Limited

A website is often the first place a potential client will visit when selecting a conveyancer, and is a great opportunity to convert new business – but only if it is done well. 

Ahead of our next series of Property Workshops “What Your Customers Really Want”, Rich Dibbins at Conscious Solutions looks at the key questions you need to ask to ensure your website is the best that it can be. 

When did you last update your website?

The old saying “you only have one chance to make a great first impression” is a key consideration when reviewing your law firm’s website. 

Customers shop around when looking to instruct professional services, and if they land on a generic, outdated website, they are likely to experience a drop in confidence and look elsewhere. 

Technology doesn’t stand still for long, and something that looks “top of the range” one month can quickly look outdated the next, so it is important to regularly review your website – especially if you notice a drop off in performance in your paid advertising campaigns. 

As a benchmark, Top 100 law firms tend to update their websites every 12-18 months, while most Top 200 law firms make improvements every couple of years.

Do you know what you are trying to achieve with your website?

If you do not have a clear strategy for what you are trying to achieve with your website, it can hinder your results. 

There are 2 types of websites law firms typically use:

• Lead generation – This type of website is a shop window that potential clients visit to find out more about your firm, as well how to get in touch. This supports a Business to Consumer (B2C) approach, and needs to sell the firm’s benefits and be easy to use.

• Brochure site – This type of website exists for verification purposes in order to reassure a referred client of the firm’s existence. It supports a Business to Business (B2B) approach, while also presenting an opportunity to build trust in the brand.

Thinking about which approach is best for your law firm and adapting your messages accordingly can help to support your wider business strategy. 

Is it easy for your prospects to find the information they need?

Moving house is well recognised to be one of life’s most stressful experiences, so don’t add to the stress by making it difficult for prospects to find the information they need on your website. 

They are coming to you with a problem, and they need to feel confident that you will handle it in the best and most cost-effective way. 

With this in mind, you should ensure your services and benefits, as well as your contact details are clearly summarised and easy to find on your home page. 

Register for our Property Workshops to find out more

If you would like to find out more from Rich Dibbins about getting the customer journey off to a great start, register for one of our upcoming Property Workshops; where he will be presenting alongside Clare Yates (tmgroup) and various speakers from Shopper Anonymous about “What Your Customers Really Want”. 

See dates and times below:

• Exeter @ Wednesday 7th June 2017 

Join us at 9:30am - 12 noon : Sandy Park Conference Centre, Exeter, EX2 7NN 

Click here to register for Exeter 

• Guildford @ Thursday 8th June 2017

Join us at 9:30am - 12 noon in Merrist Wood Golf Club, Guildford, GU3 3PB 

Click here to register for Guildford 

• Bournemouth @ Thursday 15th June 2017

Join us 9:30am - 12 noon : Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, BH7 7AF 

Click here to register for Bournemouth

If you have any questions, please contact Clare Yates on 07977 256748 or email c.yates@tmgroup.co.uk

We are pleased to announce that we are continuing our series of Property Workshops this June, sharing brand new insights into “What Your Customers Really Want” across the South of England.

In partnership with Conscious Solutions and Shopper Anonymous, these free half-day events will focus on how every part of the conveyancing business, from website to premises to social media, could and should work together to reaffirm a firm's credibility and reputation.

Agenda 

Key insights and presentations include:

• What do customers expect in 2017? 

Clare Yates – Senior Business Development Manager at tmgroup – will be sharing new research highlighting customers’ expectations and where there is room for improvement in the conveyancing service experience.

• What is your website saying about you?

Richard Dibbins – Digital Strategy Consultant at Conscious Solutions – will be focusing on the start of the customer journey, and how websites and social media can make an impact on both customers and prospects (for better or for worse).

• Is your telephone manner costing you prospects? 

Local representatives from Shopper Anonymous (Jim Smith, Richard Knight and Rhian Huxtable) will be looking at the impact on customer experience for existing and prospect clients when contacting your conveyancing office, and how small tweaks to your telephone enquiries and other processes can make a big difference.

Dates and Locations

The “What Your Customers Really Want” Property Workshops will be delivered in 3 locations in June:

• Exeter @ Wednesday 7th June 2017 

Join us at 9:30am - 12 noon : Sandy Park Conference Centre, Exeter, EX2 7NN 

Click here to register for Exeter 

• Guildford @ Thursday 8th June 2017

Join us at 9:30am - 12 noon in Merrist Wood Golf Club, Guildford, GU3 3PB 

Click here to register for Guildford 

• Bournemouth @ Thursday 15th June 2017

Join us 9:30am - 12 noon : Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, BH7 7AF 

Click here to register for Bournemouth

If you have any questions, please contact Clare Yates on 07977 256748 or email c.yates@tmgroup.co.uk

tmgroup, the market-leading provider of technical solutions for conveyancers, has launched its new and innovative tmconvey platform; including the sought-after addition of integrated Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) submission. 

Building on the platform’s broad range of services, this latest integration promises significant time-saving efficiencies to conveyancers by enabling them to calculate and submit Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) forms through a streamlined, online process.

Key features include:

• Smart forms : Automatically pre-populates the form with case details and saves to draft as you go.

• SDLT calculator : Quick and reliable access to stamp duty fees.

• Intelligent and dynamic : Easy to navigate as it only presents the fields that are necessary to populate. It also has built in validation and error checking.

Integrated Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) submission is the first of many new services which will be added to the tmconvey platform over the coming months; as tmgroup continues to mould tmconvey to the needs of its customers and deliver the latest process efficiencies. 

The new tmconvey platform delivers a clear, quick and complete user experience to save customers even more time and effort

The Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) integration is now available as part of the new tmconvey platform, which was redesigned in response to real customer feedback to deliver a clear, quick and complete user experience.

The new version of tmconvey continues to build on the company’s vast knowledge and 15+ years of experience, and is supported by:

• User-friendly design: with the right tools at their fingertips, users are supported at every step to complete tasks with speed and ease. 

• Smooth navigation: the uncomplicated, highly responsive design allows users to find what they need with less effort. They also enjoy the flexibility to work in the way they want to.

• An integrated approach: tmconvey is integrated with the core services demanded by users; it supports them to get the job done quickly, without the need to visit multiple websites. 

“HMRC integration is a fantastic addition to the range of services tmconvey offers; enabling our customers to process their SDLT submissions quickly through a streamlined and intelligent online process,” said Paul Albone, tmgroup’s Managing Director. “Our team are always working hard to improve efficiency in the conveyancing process, and this latest integration reinforces our ongoing commitment to making time for our customers. We look forward to launching further new services onto the new tmconvey platform over the coming months.”

Click here for more information

Paul Albone

Paul's tenacity and drive in his role as Managing Director has seen him establish tmgroup as a leading supplier of searches to the industry.

 

We're launching our new and innovative tmconvey platform to save you even more time and effort. 

Developed in response to customer feedback and launching on Monday 8th May 2017 under the banner ‘redesigned by you’, tmconvey delivers a clear, quick and complete user experience.

Key features include: 

• User-friendly design: with the right tools at your fingertips, you will be supported at every step to complete tasks with speed and ease. 

• Smooth navigation: the uncomplicated, highly responsive design allows you to find what you need with less effort. You will also enjoy the flexibility to work in the way you want to.

• An integrated approach: tmconvey is integrated with the core services demanded by you; it supports you to get the job done quickly, without the need to visit multiple websites. 

Integrated, electronic SDLT submission 

A powerful development is the integration of electronic SDLT (Stamp Duty Land Tax) submission. Intelligent design and HMRC integration will allow you to swap a time-consuming, manual task for a simple and streamlined online process. 

Initial feedback from customer testing groups has been positive: 

• “It looks really clean and modern”

• “The navigation is great – even quicker and easier to use. It’s obvious what you need to do next”

• “I love that there’s even less data entry on less screens – it will save me loads of time”

• “It really helps to have everything in one place like this!”

The new version of tmconvey continues to build on our vast knowledge and 15+ years of experience, combining it with simple, integrated design. Now even less time and effort is required to complete a conveyancing transaction. 

We're committed to moulding tmconvey to the future needs of our customers so you always benefit from the latest process efficiencies.

Paul Albone, Managing Director at tmgroup, comments:

“Our users will be listened to by our responsive development team as we evolve tmconvey across 2017 and beyond, making even more time for our users. They will also continue to benefit from the unparalleled support offered by our dedicated customer service team. This is an exciting new chapter for tmgroup, and I’m confident that our fresh new look and enhanced range of services will strengthen tmgroup’s position as a market leader. It’s been a real team effort and we look forward to launching further new services onto the new tmconvey platform over the coming months.”

For more details, visit www.tmgroup.co.uk/redesignedbyyou

You can also contact your Account Manager, or Helpdesk on 0844 249 9200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk

Paul Albone

Paul's tenacity and drive in his role as Managing Director has seen him establish tmgroup as a leading supplier of searches to the industry.

 

Following the success of our first Property Workshops, we are pleased to announce that the series will be continuing in April with sessions in Norwich, Cambridge, Leeds and Rotherham.

Just a few small changes can make a big difference to conversion rates

Having listened to our customers, we know that business generation is one of the main aims of leading law firms. Price is often seen as the main reason for winning or losing business, but results from recent surveys show us that this is not a customer’s primary concern.

In reality, there are a number of factors that can influence the customer in their choice of conveyancer and just making a few small changes to current practice can make a big difference to the conversion of new enquiries into instructions.

Gain new insights into the shape of your local property market 

Our free-to-attend half-day Property Workshops are tailored to the needs of conveyancing solicitors, and feature new research on how to win more conveyancing instructions, as well as key insights into the shape of your local property market.

The main focus of each session will centre on an interactive roundtable discussion, where we expect to hear a diverse range of opinions and ultimately gain an understanding of best practice in such a vital area of business development.

Secure your place at a Property Workshop near you 

We’ll be holding our next 4 Property Workshops in Norwich, Cambridge, Leeds and Rotherham across April. 

You can find out more information and secure your place using the links below:

Norwich : 19th April 2017

The time : 8.45am – 11.30am

The venue : Norwich City Football Club, Carrow Road, Norwich, NR1 1JE

The registration link : https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KTGSPRV  

Cambridge : 20th April 2017

The time : 8.45am – 11.30am

The venue : Quy Mill Hotel, Church Road, Stow-Cum-Quy, CB25 9AF

The registration link : https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KRN9YGV 

Rotherham : 26th April 2017

The time : 8.45am – 11.30am

The venue : Holiday Inn Rotherham - Sheffield M1, J33, West Bawtry Road, S60 2XL 

The registration link : https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KNK6W7L 

Leeds : 27th April 2017

The time : 9.30am – 11.30am

The venue : Leeds Football Club, Elland Road, Leeds, LS11 0ES

The registration link : https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KMF8SK5 

100% of attendees would recommend a Property Workshop to their peers

Property Workshops have already taken place and been well-received in Southampton, Exeter and Guildford, with 100% of attendees agreeing that the sessions were both relevant, and worthy of recommending to their peers. 

Here are some verbatim comments:

• "Really interesting and thought provoking" 

• "Very helpful and has highlighted areas to work on within the business"

• "Great entertaining training, opened my eyes to areas we needed to focus on"

• "Interesting and held my attention through interactive, roundtable discussions"

Request a Property Workshop near you

If have any questions, or would like to attend a Property Workshop but there isn’t currently one running near you, please email marketing@tmgroup.co.uk