Conveyancers and solicitors are both legally qualified. Either can assist with buying or selling your home or investment property. But they’re not exactly the same qualifications, nor do you get exactly the same experience.
So how are they different? And what factors should you consider when deciding which one to use?
A great place to start is by looking at the qualifications and the study involved.
Solicitors study for several years and they study all aspects of law. That includes all areas of the law which have to do with property, but it also includes criminal law, contract law, environmental law, litigation, employment law, family law and so on. While solicitors cover everything in their study, once they’re practising, they tend to specialise in just a few areas. Law is always changing and it’s hard to keep up with absolutely everything!
Conveyancers specialise in the transfer of property right from the start, even while studying. So they study the areas of law which relate to transfer of property. That’s contract law, plus some areas of revenue law and tax law.
When it comes to buying and selling property, both conveyancers and solicitors are licensed to conduct legal matters.
You will find that there are both law firms and conveyancing firms. It’s the same conveyancer-vs-solicitor principle operating at the business level.
It’s worth noting that everyone in a conveyancing firm lives and breathes conveyancing.
When you speak to a conveyancing office, you're often speaking to the person who is actually dealing with your file. Even when you speak to an assistant, they’re usually a conveyancing assistant, with significant relevant knowledge.
When you’re dealing with a law firm, you may speak with the receptionist, or to a paralegal. Since law firms often do a lot of other work, these people may not be thinking about conveyancing 100% of the time they’re at work. The solicitors are fully trained and qualified, but sometimes the paralegals and support staff haven’t had the opportunity to absorb quite as much knowledge about conveyancing specifically. They can be less aware of the gravity and urgency of certain situations. So for example if your cooling-off period expires today, you need a response today. Support staff in a broad practice legal firm may be used to the solicitors taking a day or two to respond, and not appreciate the impact of that in your transaction.
The solicitors have expertise, but there are times when they’re working across a range of different legal disciplines. They may be a little more removed from the case, so even when they respond promptly, it takes them a little longer to get up to speed.
Conveyancers are all office-based. Solicitors with a wider case-load are partially office-based. They also spend time in court. That’s an intense, litigious environment. So not only are they not necessarily available when you need a prompt response, they also need time to readjust.
As a full-time conveyancer, I can have 30 or more matters open at onetime. I have to switch between them as I speak to different clients, but for each of them, the process is essentially the same. So it’s easier for me to switch. I also have a solid checklist process, and for each and every matter, I know whether it’s out of the ordinary or just the expected next step. That makes it easy to respond fast and correctly.
Conveyancers usually charge a flat fee for a specific matter. The standard model for solicitors is to charge billable hours. Since they have to compete with conveyancing, they often charge a flat fee for property matters. This can put pressure on them to complete quickly, so they have more to charge as billable hours on other matters. Some will delegate tasks to their assistants for this reason.
Individuals in any practice vary, but I have noticed that overall, solicitors handling property matters tend to be more confrontational than conveyancers.
Possibly this is because solicitors are more exposed to the adversarial system in the courts. Some parts of the law are about one side winning against the other, about defending and enforcing your clients’ rights. Property isn’t usually like that – in a property transaction, the buyer wants to buy and the seller wants to sell. Once the price is agreed, they share the goal of successfully completing the contract. This can affect the mindset of the professionals involved. Is the primary goal to protect your client’s position or to complete the transaction in a timely way? We have a way which ensures both.
It's also worth noting that a conveyancer charging a flat fee has no incentive to take a matter to litigation. They may charge an additional few hundred dollars, but it’s minimal compared to what a solicitor would bill for this kind of additional issue.
For your average property transaction, a conveyancer is likely to have all the expertise and experience you need, possibly at a much lower price. However, not all transactions are average! Sometimes it makes sense to use a solicitor.
For example, developers selling off the plan have risks to consider which are different from those in a standard residential home sale. A firm which specialises in this area can probably support them better than we can. It’s not just the issues either – a large development may mean lots of contracts completely on or around the same day. A larger firm has more staffing capacity to handle that.
Even if you’re not a developer, if you have a large property portfolio, you may find a specialist property lawyer has more expertise relevant to your situation.
In the end, though, the most important thing isn’t conveyancer vs solicitor. It’s that you trust whoever you choose to handle your property matter. Conveyancers and solicitors are all qualified. (If you have any doubts about that, ask for licence details and verify them!) It’s really a matter of finding someone you feel comfortable with. Buying and selling property is a big deal and you need a legal professional who’s on your side. We'd love to support you in that way. If you'd like to find out more, please get in touch.
