Adam & Company Conveyancing Panel Information

Lexsure only know of two or three banks that operate a distinct approved solicitors panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain level. You should nevertheless check directly with Adam & Company. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with Adam & Company

The CLC has initiated dialogue with lenders and their representative bodies to see whether and how the risks that lenders wish to mitigate could be addressed through the regulatory framework rather than via ad hoc arrangements that can differ from lender to lender. It is likely that that the CLC have been in touch with lenders such as Adam & Company in the recent past.

The answer to this question really depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Adam & Company conveyancing panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows:

1. lack of transactions
2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction.

In these three circumstances it is unlikely that you would expected to take any action. Disclosure and other compliance considerations are more likely to be relevant if the reason for removal is due to breaches of lender requirements or allegations of fraud or negligence. Whether the reasoning should trigger a disclosable 'material' breach will depend on the firm and the circumstances around possible failures to comply with the SRA Authorisation Rules, and the SRA will judge each case on its own merits. Factors such as the detriment or risk of detriment to clients, the scale of the issue and overall impact on the firm will need to be considered in deciding whether a failure is 'material'. As the compliance officer you will need systems to identify patterns of breaches. Even if you don't consider there to be regulatory implications the firms COFA should give some thought to whether she/he needs to take any action as result of being removed from the Adam & Company conveyancing panel.

Please tread carefully here as what you are intending may not be acceptable to the mortgage company. It is possible that you (as a non-panel firm) or the mortgage applicant are not at liberty instruct a panel firm of your choice. An increasing amount of lenders are making it clear to their panel firms that where a non-panel member firm is instructed by one of their mortgage applicants, the lender must appoint a panel firm to carry out its instructions and to liaise with the borrower's conveyancer. You also need to make the costs implications and potential for delay very clear to your client.

CQS accreditation gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their panels. Some mortgage companies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC.

You need to contact Adam & Company to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes a specific section for lenders to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Adam & Company in their Part 2’s state: It helps to disclose the firm’s Adam & Company solicitors panel number.