Extraneous Tasks

Tasks that are not legal tasks, and are not directly related to the conveyancing transaction, are known as extraneous tasks.  It is important to differentiate between conveyancing tasks and extraneous tasks, as there can be serious implications for both the lawyer and the client in terms of costs and liability if the distinction is not maintained.

Additional legal work is not extraneous

Occasionally, a client will request that we attend to matters that are outside of the scope the conveyancing work we have been assigned to complete.
For example, we may be asked to prepare a Licence Agreement or a Will.

While the making of a Will or the preparation of a Licence Agreement are outside the conveyancing transaction, we can attend to them because they are legal work.  We are able to charge a fee for our legal work, and it is covered by our professional indemnity insurance.

Tasks for which we can accept professional responsibility are not extraneous.