A practical guide / Conveyancing
Can AI help with conveyancing?
Yes. Use AI to draft plain-English client updates from the matter log and sort search findings for the fee earner. Begin with one purchase update showing what has arrived, what has been reviewed and what happens next.
This guide is for firms working on England and Wales matters. It includes sample wording and a reusable status structure. The Law Society’s generative AI guide sets out points for firms planning to use AI; the links below cover legal practice and land records.
Use the update promptGive clients a clear view of progress and the next action.
Build the update from dated matter entries
Use a short export or extract from the matter log. Include the stage, current status, entry date, owner and next step. For each item, distinguish receipt of a document from the fee earner’s review of its contents.
More on this step
Group the client message under progress since the last update, outstanding replies, action for the client and next contact. Use the practice’s usual terms for searches, enquiries and mortgage matters. Ask the assistant to explain those terms in ordinary language while keeping their meaning. The Law Society’s guide discusses uses and points to consider before a firm starts.
Read the source: Law Society: generative AI essentials
Prepare search summaries for a clear review
Give each search its own source entry with property or matter reference, provider, date and page references. Ask for a draft summary under result, point flagged, source page and question for the fee earner. Keep the full report linked to that summary.
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For land records, HM Land Registry publishes guides on official searches and official copies. Use the relevant guide when the fee earner needs to verify a register entry. Keep local authority and other search reports separately labelled in the draft. Ask the fee earner to add the view and any enquiry before the summary becomes client advice.
Read the source: HM Land Registry: official searches and official copies guides
Make the next step easy to understand
Give the client one clear action for each item that needs their response. State what you need, who will use it and how to reply through the firm’s agreed channel. If the update requires no action, say when the team plans to contact them again.
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Use these reusable headings in the matter log: stage, received, reviewed, enquiry raised, response awaited, next step and owner. For the email, shorten them to what has progressed, what remains open and what you need to do. Keep the wording consistent between assistants and fee earners so a later update can follow the same matter history.
Worked example
A search received with one enquiry outstanding
Example with made-up details: the matter log for a purchase records the search report as received on 8 October. The fee earner’s entry on 9 October says that an enquiry has been sent to the seller’s solicitor. The reply is still awaited.
A draft update reads: “We have received the search report and raised a question with the seller’s solicitor. We are waiting for their reply before we can finish reviewing that point. The next step is with us. We plan to chase the reply on 15 October.” Each statement comes from a given log entry or agreed action. The fee earner can edit it before issue.
Illustrative example.
Dated log
Show receipt, review and open enquiries.
Client draft
Explain progress in ordinary language.
Matter record
Save the approved update and next action.
Try a practical task
Draft a purchase update from the log
Use this prompt with a sample matter history before applying the firm’s approved process to client work.
Try this in your AI app
ChatGPT
Claude
Gemini
CodexUsing Gemini? The button copies the prompt. Paste it into the new chat.
Write a client update for a residential purchase from the dated matter log below. Use four short headings: progress, outstanding replies, your action and next contact. Keep the difference between received, under review and cleared.
Include only dates and next steps stated in the log. Where an entry is unclear, put a question in a separate fee earner note. Keep that note outside the client email.
After the draft, list the log references supporting each stage. For any given search summary, flag the report page and carry forward the fee earner’s agreed view. Use only the legal advice and agreed dates stated in the log.
Keep correspondence connected to the file
Save the approved version beside the matter entries that supported it. Build each new draft from the current log. When an answer clears only part of an enquiry, record the remaining point explicitly.
Agree a small set of example messages for common stages, such as searches received or enquiries awaiting reply. Let the team adapt those examples to the current record. During the first exercise, ask a colleague to find every stage in the source log. Use any disagreement to improve the status terms your team shares.
Keep legal review and confidentiality with the firm
The SRA’s AI warning notice addresses inaccurate details and client confidentiality. Apply the firm’s supervision and data controls before using live matter data. Use an approved account and establish what details it may receive.
The fee earner should check who the draft is for, the status of each step, search findings and legal wording. Keep ID checks, funds decisions, title advice and readiness for exchange in the firm’s usual process. Use sample cases to develop prompts. Send questions about legal meaning to the lawyer. Carry forward a conclusion only when the fee earner has recorded it.
Read the source: SRA: misuse of AI warning notice
Questions about this task
Which update should we try first?
Choose a purchase update with a small number of dated stages. Use the sample headings to prepare a client email and a separate fee earner note.
How should we summarise a long search report?
Sort the given findings with page references and questions for review. Have the fee earner record the meaning and next steps before adapting it for the client.