Due Diligence Archives - Page 2 of 2

Say “Yes! I am open for business.” to your clients. Four solutions to maintain business as usual.

April 7, 2020

Say “Yes! I am open for business.” to your clients. Four solutions to maintain business as usual. Despite the current climate, you don’t need to put your processes on hold. Whether it be property settlements, verifying your client’s identity, signing important documents or keeping your sensitive information safe, you can say ‘Yes! I am open for business.” Here are four ways to maintain business as usual, in an environment when things certainly aren’t usual. Verify your client’s identity remotely, in lieu of face to face. Since COVID-19 and the necessity of working from home, as well as ARNECC’s updated verification of identity (VOI) recommendations, new VOI solutions are emerging almost daily. However, it is important to pay attention to what is being verified, whether official documents are checked against government records and if the security and privacy of your client’s data is guaranteed. InfoTrack’s remote VOI solution, InfoTrackID, ticks all these boxes. The Solution features four layers of identity verification smarts which are a first for the Australian legal industry. These layers of verification all work together to reduce identity fraud whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines and keeping clients safe. Amanda Spencer from Bridge Legal, an InfoTrack client, said “Once

Three ways you can remain productive and effective when working remotely

March 18, 2020

Three ways you can remain productive and effective when working remotely In the current climate, working from home or away from the office has become a necessity rather than simply making headway towards a flexible working arrangement. Now more than ever, the health and safety of people is leading the way. But even during times like these one big question remains; are we as equally productive at home as we are in the office? Do we get more or less work done working from the comfort of home? Some will argue they are more productive with less noise and interruptions, while others find tasks to complete around the home that distract them from work. So how do we combat this? Here are three tips and tools to ensure your firm can continue to work anywhere at any time, combatting that productivity lag. Think about how you communicate with staff and clients If you’ve been working from home for a while, there might be a sense of isolation from your team. It’s important to use tools beyond email and instant messaging that replicate the feeling of being together. Video programs like Zoom and Microsoft Teams are easy to use and allow

Don’t get caught out with the 1 July 2019 mandates

May 14, 2019

Don’t get caught out with the 1 July 2019 mandates Right now, in NSW, conveyancers and lawyers lodge around 84 per cent of all possible dealings electronically. This includes more than 80 per cent of transfers. We are now just weeks away from the 1 July 2019 mandate—when all mainstream conveyancing dealings must be lodged electronically—whether they are standalone or in combination—for example, a typical property transaction involving a discharge, transfer and mortgage. If you are a practitioner receiving instructions to act on a sale or purchase of property on behalf of a client, it is critical from now to make sure you prepare your dealings for electronic lodgment if you think the matter will settle after 1 July. In these last weeks leading up to this milestone, please do not hesitate to contact ORG if you need support. We will also be out on the road talking to practitioners across regional NSW and in Sydney. And we will continue to update our website with resources and information to support your transition. You can find statistics, including a breakdown of subscriber uptake by area code, on our statistics page. Here’s a few more resources that can help right away: FAQs Training workshops How

The evolution of eSettlements

May 2, 2019

The evolution of e-settlements Despite its increased prominence and continued growth, the sharing economy won’t completely replace traditional economic networks anytime soon. It’s more likely to force existing industries to become more like the collaborative platforms that challenge them, with potential benefits for everyone involved. As the adoption of eConveyancing increases, there is a real threat that some lawyers and conveyancers won’t be able to make the transition and may be left behind. This is due to several factors such as the inability to price competitively, difficulty upskilling resources, a gap in technology knowledge or challenges with adopting new online processes. How can we transform these threats into tomorrow’s opportunity? At InfoTrack we have been thinking about how we can support our clients with answering this very question. SettleIT (in its newest form) has been further enhanced to offer our clients an opportunity to book their e-settlement processing needs via a shared economy of settlement agents.The objective of this service aims to provide all practitioners with an opportunity to continue operating and potentially expand into other areas of practice by accessing professional support on demand, without having to invest in IT or upskilling resources, and without having to be registered with

In the Torrens system, registration (without fraud) is still trumps

May 2, 2019

eConveyancing terms and acronyms

April 30, 2019

eConveyancing terms and acronyms Industry terms and acronyms eSettlements Electronic settlements refers to conveyancing transactions settled via a platform electronically. eConveyancing Electronic conveyancing refers to the end to end workflow in property exchange. CAF Client Authorisation Form enables a practitioner to act on behalf of a client by signing and approving documentation. VOI Verification of Identity is an identification process that supports the e-Conveyancing compliance framework. ARNECC Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council, a body comprised of the Registrars from all Australian States and Territories. Digital Signature Encrypted electronic data intended for the exclusive use of a particular person as a means of identifying that person as the sender of an electronic communication or the signer of a document. ELNO Electronic lodgement network operator, the party operating the electronic platform. The first ELNO in Australia is PEXA. MOR Model Operating Requirements, the rules governing the relationship between the ELNO and the land title registries. These are the requirements on which the NSW Operating Requirements are based. MPR Model Participation Rules, the rules governing the relationship between the ELNO and subscribers, participants in the system such as lawyers. These are the rules on which the NSW Participation Rules are based. Representative A lawyer

Five sales tips for legal and conveyancing practitioners

April 5, 2019

Five sales tips for legal and conveyancing practitioners The perception of ‘sales’ from people not directly involved in sales tends to be that it’s a scary practice that they want to stay well clear of. Salespeople sometimes have a reputation of being pushy, overconfident and arrogant. However, today the most successful salespeople are trusted advisors to clients and potential clients. In an increasingly challenging property market, it’s important to look at ways to differentiate your firm and find ways of winning new business. Below are some sales tips that can help you or your firm win new business without coming across as pushy, arrogant or annoying. 1) Follow up every enquiry promptly. A great way of following up a telephone discussion or meeting with a potential client is to send them a follow-up email/ quote/ proposal promptly. This should articulate what you discussed, the services that you offering to them and why they should trust your firm to undertake this work. 2) Call to ask for the business. This doesn’t have to be pushy, you are purely asking them if they have any further questions and whether they are ready to proceed. 3) Listen to your client. A mistake even the most experienced salesperson falls

Say “Yes! I am open for business.” to your clients. Four solutions to maintain business as usual.

Three ways you can remain productive and effective when working remotely

Don’t get caught out with the 1 July 2019 mandates

The evolution of eSettlements

In the Torrens system, registration (without fraud) is still trumps

eConveyancing terms and acronyms

Five sales tips for legal and conveyancing practitioners

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