tm blog

Our team at tmgroup have taken part in a Thames Path Charity Walk and raised an impressive £1,820 for Prospect Hospice.

Across a full week in June, 70 employees swapped their desks for the great outdoors to complete a stretch of the Thames Path. It was no mean feat with distances ranging from 7 to 17 miles, and even an adventurous 6 mile night time hike. 

Volunteers came forward from all departments to take part in the challenge, forming groups based on their personal preferences for distance. A further team supported the event by coordinating a mini bus to be driven to the various pick up points across the week.

The group collectively completed 804 miles collecting donations from family and friends, as well as supportive members of the public they met along the way, to reach their grand total of £1,820.

The donation was gratefully received by Prospect Hospice, who told us that it could be used to support :

• 60 hours of Prospect@Home care, providing hospice quality care in the patient's own home, or

• 33 patients spending time at a day therapy unit, providing much needed respite and care to both patients and their families.

“We originally set a company target of raising £1,500 for Prospect Hospice and it is truly fantastic that we have exceeded this quite considerably,” said Paul Baker, Systems & 1st Line Support Lead (IT) at tmgroup and organiser of the Thames Path Charity Walk. “It has also been great to see the positive impact the challenge has had on employee relationships across different departments, as the walks provided ample opportunity for conversations between people who typically work on different teams.”  

This is the second year running that we have put our best foot forward to raise money for charity, as last April 69 employees collectively walked 84 miles along The Ridgeway in Wiltshire to raise over £2,000 for Wiltshire & Swindon Sport.

Since our National Conference back in February, cyber crime incidents have continued to make the headlines; from the WannaCry ransomware attack to the recent attack on DLA Piper. 

To help support your on-going efforts to protect your law firm from cyber criminals, we have launched a new series of webinars, featuring expert advice on the current risks all law firms need to be aware of. 

These pre-recorded webinars are available now on the tmgroup Webinar Hub for you to watch and share with your team at your own convenience. 

The full series includes; 

The current cyber security risks you need to be aware of

Graeme McGowan from BeCyberSure Ltd explores:

• The current cyber security risks law firms need to be aware of. 

• The forthcoming General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Click here to watch the ‘Cyber Security – 2017 and beyond’ webinar.

Find out : How your PR company could act as a bridge for hackers

Jeremy Swinfen Green from Teiss discusses:

• The risks posed by business partners, contractors and customers.

• How to reduce the risk of a third party who has access to your IT systems acting as a bridge for hackers.

Click here to watch the ‘Cyber Security: Managing 3rd Party Supplier Risks’ webinar.

Find out : Why increased IT complexity is ACTUALLY good for cyber criminals 

Matt Newton from Oosha Ltd explains:

• Why increased IT complexity is good for cyber criminals. 

• The latest considerations relating to professional indemnity insurance and cloud technologies.

Click here to watch the ‘Dealing with the undeniable threat’ webinar.

Find out : How to respond if the worst happens

The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s National Cyber PROTECT Coordinator looks at:

• The risks all law firms should be making their teams aware of. 

• Incident handling guidance and information sharing.

• How to respond to a cyber-incident.

Click here to watch the ‘Cyber Crime and the Law Enforcement Response’ webinar.

Stay updated on the latest cyber crime advice with tmgroup by following @TM_Property for our latest webinars, events and articles around cyber crime.

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.

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

The Coal and Water authorities have advised of their annual round of price increases – effective from Saturday 1st April 2017.

These changes will be implemented automatically on the tmconvey system, and as such any new orders placed on or after 1st April 2017 will reflect the new pricing.

The full details for standard individual price increases (exc.VAT) can be seen in the table below:

If you have any questions, please contact our helpdesk on 0844 2499200 or email helpdesk@tmgroup.co.uk