As part of National Conveyancing Week today we’re looking at recruitment and how we have adapted our firm to ensure we have the right people in the right places!

As most law firms have found over the last few years, recruiting experienced conveyancing staff has been challenging. At Farnworth Rose we decided to take a different approach by launching our own internal training academy, this was a significant operational change and required a great deal of time and commitment to set up.

The training has been specifically designed to take support staff with little or no conveyancing experience and provide them with the knowledge and skills required to provide comprehensive senior support to the team and an excellent service to clients. Those who wish to do, may go on to progress into fee earning roles with formal qualifications.

The course content was created by the firm’s Head of Conveyancing, Emma Moore and is delivered face to face once a month by herself or one of our other property lawyers who is an expert in the relevant subject. We currently have six members of staff undertaking this training and the feedback received has been exceptional in terms of building their confidence, understanding of the complex areas of conveyancing better, providing an even better service to clients and demonstrates our dedication to support our staff.

Feedback from some of the trainees:

Dawn Turner

“I have found the training sessions invaluable and always look forward to them as they have helped massively in gaining a better understanding of the legal process and how this can be implemented with the firm’s ongoing conveyancing transactions. The resources and training provided in the sessions has given me the confidence to continue to assist the fee earner at a senior level.

In addition, the sessions have been a great way of gaining advice on problematic files and how the situation can be resolved. Discussing these with colleagues and the fee earner taking the training has been beneficial as there is always something that crops up on a file which may be unusual, or you haven’t seen before.”

Susan Harrison

“Farnworth Rose Training Academy has been imperative in my role as a Conveyancing Assistant and also assisted in studying to complete the Level 4 Conveyancing Diploma.   I’ve worked in law for 30 years in an administrative position in various areas of law and it’s only since my position as a Conveyancing Assistant at Farnworth Rose that consideration was given to, and the opportunity arose, to progress in the conveyancing sector working towards becoming a qualified licensed conveyancer.  The training sessions are organised, friendly, encourage open discussion and enable me to use the knowledge gained in my daily role.”

We have previously seen success with our in-house training, in 2021 Carole Hartley became our New Business Manager. This was a completely new role developed by the individual with the support of the team. The role has made a significant difference to our existing and new relationships with referrers and clients as she has the time and remit to manage these relationships proactively and monitor the results. 

As well as the internal training that is being undertaken through The Farnworth Rose Training Academy, we also have 2 other members of the department undertaking the CLC Level 4 Diploma in Conveyancing Law and Practice. On completion of these courses, they will become qualified Conveyancing Technicians and we hope to support them beyond this up to the Level 6 Diploma and becoming a Licensed Conveyancer. We are also keen supporters of the apprenticeship route and currently have two members of the team on a Level 3 Business Administration Apprentice.

As an example of the excellent training and development at Farnworth Rose, our Head of Conveyancing Emma Moore exemplifies this. Emma gained a First Class Law degree whilst working full time at FR then become a CILEx Fellow, progressing her career throughout, becoming head of department in 2021 and winning Conveyancing Practitioner of the Year 2021.