Missives: Diploma v Practice

One of the most important (and first) components of a Conveyancing transaction is, of course, the Missives. For those of you that don't know what they are, it is the combination of all formal letters passed from purchasing and selling agents of one transaction which form the contract. Sadly, the Diploma gives a whistle-stop tour which, in my opinion, doesn't go into anywhere near enough detail to explain the significance of what they are or why they are there. It also doesn't provide a complete explanation or understanding of the clauses and conditions. In particular the Scottish Standard Clauses, which for the majority of my time as a trainee paralegal, and anyone else in conveyancing, were incredibly important.

I am understanding that there are time constraints placed on tutors during the Diploma and that it is meant to be a basic background but I had wished throughout my classes that there would be more depth and explanation. We were told, for example, to delete certain conditions by explanation of that there are relevant documents enclosed with the formal letter or that they are not applicable. This is fine, however, for the other conditions that were ignored there was no explanation of what they are for, why they are important and in which instances they would apply. Having this knowledge made me feel that my course mates were missing out on this much needed information.

I also appreciate that this sort of thing may be what is covered in your traineeship if you are covering a seat in Conveyancing, but this is not something that I was sat down and explained as part of my paralegal training which I felt had I been taught this at an early stage then any misunderstandings could have been avoided. As Missives form the contract, if any mistakes are made or anything isn't understood then this could end badly on your client. 

An example of what had been missed out in classes is the implications of any registered Notice of Potential Liabilities. This is an issue which I experienced a number of times in practice which could cause problems for a client. Although the likelihood of these occurring is not often, it was often enough for me to have to know about. This was not mentioned at all in class. 

Although not specific to Missives but still a key part, the Home Report was not explained in full detail nor was it mentioned that it needed to be examined as part of your Examination on Title prior to conclusion of Missives. This is essential as any potential issues should be identified from the Home Report and the Title Deeds as quickly as possible. 

Those are my thoughts on Missives as part of the course. I would be keen to hear thoughts from other Diploma students at other universities to know if this happens elsewhere.