Legal Matters & Conveyancing

Matters

Every matter has a reference, a client, a responsible fee earner, a status (open, completed, aborted or closed) and its own timeline. Every step, date change, party change and file note is recorded there automatically, so the history of a file is always in one place.

Conveyancing pipelines

A conveyancing matter is one where you set who you act for (buyer or seller) and the transaction type (standard or auction). That picks one of four pipelines (Purchase, Sale, Auction purchase or Auction sale), each split into stages from instruction and onboarding through exchange, completion and post-completion.

Tenure and funding decide which steps apply. Leasehold and share of freehold files get the LPE1 management pack, lease term, ground rent, Building Safety Act and post-completion notice steps. Freehold files get covenant and estate rentcharge checks. A mortgage adds the offer, lender requirements and certificate of title on a purchase, and redemption and DS1 on a sale. Auction files can be traditional (exchange on the fall of the hammer) or modern method (reservation, then exchange within 28 days).

1. Go to Matters and choose New matter, then Conveyancing
2. Pick Acting for, Transaction, Tenure and whether there is a mortgage; for an auction, also the auction method and date
3. Open the matter and work through the steps; tick a step when it's done, or open it to add notes, change its due date or mark it not applicable
4. Add the other parties (the other side's conveyancer, estate agent, broker, lender, managing agent, landlord or auctioneer) from the Parties panel

Key dates and deadlines

Instruction, auction, target exchange, exchange, completion and completion deadline dates sit on every conveyancing file. Completing a step like Contracts exchanged or Completion fills its date in for you, and step due dates follow the key dates: the pre-auction report is due the day before the auction, and the SDLT return within 14 days of completion. On auction files, exchange sets a completion deadline 28 days out (you can overwrite it with the exact term in the special conditions), and the matter shows a warning as it approaches.

If a file's tenure or funding changes mid-transaction, edit it in Details. The steps re-sync: newly relevant steps are added, pending steps that no longer apply are removed, and anything already done is kept.

Client portal

Each client on a case can have their own case portal, where they follow progress stage by stage, see key dates, upload what you've asked for, download documents you share, and message you. The portal opens from a personal link, with no password to set up.

1. On the case, add the client under Parties with the role Client (or Joint client) and their email
2. Choose Invite to portal. If your email is connected in Settings it's emailed to them; either way you can copy the link and send it yourself
3. Under Documents & requests, request what you need (ID, proof of funds, TA forms) and tick Visible to client on anything you want them to see
4. Reply to client messages in the Messages tab. The Dashboard shows unread messages and uploads waiting for review
5. Choose Remove access at any time; it takes effect immediately

Seeing every file at once

The Matters list has a tab per pipeline, with each file's stage, progress, next due step and anything overdue. On a pipeline tab, switch to Board to see every open file in columns by stage.

Time, billing and client money

Time is recorded against the matter's client in Time Recording and invoiced from Billing. Client money is held in a segregated ledger under Finance. See those guides for the full flow.