Coming around to conveyancing
When I worked in my father’s firm, I generally avoided conveyancing work i.e. sale and purchase transactions of landed property. However, every now and again, I would take on a file or two to do. I wanted to remind myself how the process worked. I worked on contracts for the sale and purchase of landed properties with titles and those without; with loans or without; apartments, houses, or land. No exotic animals or bizarre objects for us as we lacked the wildly eccentric clients likely to possess such things. I also went back to conveyancing every now and again to see if I would take to it. You never know. Sometimes coming to enjoy something we previously didn’t is a matter of timing and context or incentives. But earlier on, with me, where conveyancing was concerned, I did know; I didn’t enjoy it. It was like me and vegetables when I was young. Conveyancing had too little legal drama and action about it. There is no demand to read urgently, widely, or deeply about the law for the usual sale and purchase transactions. If the transaction goes wrong, then sure, we would bring out dem books. But to work on the transaction itself, there is little need. The contracts have seasoned templates that require some revision to customize it for the transaction, the standard forms and letters are set, and the places to submit the relevant documents are known: the stamping office, the land office, the banks, and the other party’s solicitors. The application of the law is only prominent in concluding the terms of the agreement; the rest of it is administered to facilitate the transaction. Cross the tees and dot the eyes and do things when they are supposed to be done and it’s all good. That’s conveyancing. It’s not as if litigation lacks that aspect. It does have its less contentious elements and moments too. But litigation has its regular Himalayas to cross, dragons to slay, catacombs to discover and hotel buffets to pillage. So it has a touch more drama, urgency, and a whole lot at stake to go with the food, drink, and law. And there is a lot of law in play. It doesn’t begin or end with procedural law and substantive law; those are the easy areas of law. The challenges that arise when we have to contend with the likes of Murphy’s law, Finagle’s corollary to Murphy’s law, Murphy’s Second Corollary, Hofstadter’s Law, Parkinson’s Law, Willoughby’s Law, Monly’s Rule, Peter’s Principle, Power Law Distribution, Sayre’s Law, Goodhart’s Law and so on. As I said, there’s a lot of law going on. When I started my firm, I assembled my lawyers and pupils and told them: “Gents, we are a litigation firm. I want us to do kick-ass litigation work and have fun while doing it. I don’t care if it’s civil, corporate, criminal, industrial, arbitration, or anything else, if there’s a dispute to be resolved or fought out, we’ll do it and do it well. I don’t want us doing anything else. So no conveyancing, trademark, or administrative kind of work. If you get that kind of work, you are at liberty to reject it.” A few months after my firm was set up my maternal uncle called me up. “Hey Fahri, how’s the firm going?” “Oklah, uncle. Taking it one month at a time. So far, so good. What’s up?” “I bought this apartment some time back. Recently, the developer sent me a letter. They are asked me to see their lawyer to sign some document, a memorandum of transfer?” “Ah. That means the title for your apartment is out.” “Oh. What does that mean?” “That letter is telling you that the title for your apartment has been issued. The developer can now register the transfer of the property into your name on the title.” “So what do I have to do?” “All you have to do is sign the memorandum of transfer; we call it an MOT. Then you have to settle the stamp duty and make sure the assessment for the property is paid up. The developer’s lawyers will submit the MOT with the title to the relevant land office. The land office will process the transfer and issue you with a copy of the title with your name on it.” “I see. Can you do it for me?” It was a simple matter. I think even the developer’s lawyer could have helped him out with it. But this was my uncle and an uncle I liked. He looked for me because I am the family lawyer for my mom’s side of the family. He always invited my family and me to his excellent Chinese New Year and Christmas cookouts. He took me to play tennis with him when I was younger. He was always nice to me growing up. When I put all that together with me telling him to go somewhere else because I only did litigation, I felt petty and unhelpful. Wasn’t I suppose to help those within my capacity to? This was fam and it wasn’t as if I had a whole lot to do at the time either. I wavered as I recalled my little speech to the troops a few months prior. Doing this little piece of work didn’t mean I was now a conveyancing firm. I was wrestling with it in my mind. “Fahri? You there?” “Sorry, uncle. Yes. Yes, I’m here. I spaced out for a moment.” “Oh, sorry. I know you must be busy. Did you manage to catch what I said earlier?” “Yes, uncle. I heard. Of course. Of course, we’ll sort you out. I’ll send you a text to tell you what I need and we take it from there?” “Okay. I will wait for it. I am glad you can do it for me. I know you just started out so I don’t expect you to do it for free, yah? Please send me your bill.
