A career in residential conveyancing

In celebration of National Conveyancing Week one of our senior paralegals explains how she started her conveyancing career and what she loves about her role.

My name is Poppy Howard-Jones and I am a senior-paralegal here at Cripps.

I started here in October 2014 as a junior secretary.  Having completed a personal assistant and legal studies course at college, I was fresh into law with no previous experience which was quite a shock. At the time I wasn’t sure which area of law I wanted to work in, but after almost 10 years I think it is safe to say I have settled on conveyancing.

After a couple of years as a secretary I got into the swing of things, but felt I needed more of a challenge. My hard work and determination paid off and subsequently I was offered a fee earning position and at the same time I enrolled with Cilex in order to complete further qualifications. Since then I have not looked back.

I am working towards the completion of my Cilex studies and will shortly take on the professional stage of the qualification.  Juggling studies with full time work is not easy but I have been managing this for over four years and I am determined to complete my studies to qualify as a fellow of the institute of chartered legal executives.

The world of conveyancing is ever changing and that’s what keeps us on our toes. Not only must we keep up with changes in the law and regulation, but technology is something that we must all embrace as well. At Cripps we have recently developed a new conveyancing app for clients where I was part of the core development team.  The new app brings many benefits to clients and aims to streamline the onboarding process, as well as allowing them to fill out forms and keep track of their transaction.  It will be interesting to see how the industry navigates artificial intelligence and what changes will be adopted by law firms in the future.

What I enjoy

I enjoy building relationships with clients and agents, and believe that communication is an important part of being a successful conveyancer. Moving home can be one of the most stressful times in peoples’ lives but there is nothing more rewarding than the day of completion and hearing the happiness in a client’s voice when you tell them they can collect the keys.  Receiving referrals and dealing with repeat clients is equally rewarding.

Words of wisdom

For anyone looking to get into conveyancing I would say that every day is different and no two transactions are the same, it is fast-paced and great for people who thrive on being busy.  Whilst the job brings challenges, it also brings a huge sense of fulfilment.