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Clydesdale Bank Approved Legal Panel

Clydesdale Bank have introduced an approved panel of solicitors and licensed conveyancers to provide legal services to customers buying a property and re-mortgaging. A list of the approved firms is provided below:

Clydesdale Bank Approved Legal Panel

PDF document, 1.65 MB, last updated 25th March 2024.

Purchase applications

If your client has not already instructed a legal firm to act on their behalf, they can choose to use any firm on the Bank’s Approved Legal Panel.

Your client can also choose to use their own solicitor or licensed conveyancer to carry out the required legal work. If their chosen firm is on our Approved Legal Panel, the same firm can also act on the Bank’s behalf at no additional cost.

However, if the firm is not on our Approved Legal Panel, the Bank will instruct a firm to act on its behalf and your client will be charged directly for this service, in addition to their own legal fees. This process is known as Separate Representation and the cost will be £250 plus VAT – a total of £300. This must be paid in full before completion funds are released.

Please be aware that if your customer chooses to use a firm that is not on our approved panel, the time required to complete the necessary legal work will take longer. For urgent cases, for instance if exchange is required within 4 weeks, we strongly recommend that your customer chooses a firm on our approved panel.

We do not offer a Separate Representation process for properties in Scotland. Your client must use a solicitor on our Approved Legal Panel.

Re-mortgage applications

Only the Bank’s nominated legal provider or a firm on the Approved Legal Panel may be instructed to provide legal services for remortgages.

Your client may choose the Banks’ ‘Fees Free’ service to cover all basic legal work involved in remortgaging to us. Where this happens, we will instruct our preferred Legal Firm to carry out this work.

However, if your customer does not wish to take advantage of this service, they may choose any other firm that is on the Approved Legal Panel at their own cost. This firm will act on behalf of both the Bank and your client.

Further information.

For further information about the Bank’s Approved Legal Panel, please refer to the frequently asked questions below or speak to your local Relationship Partner.

How can a solicitor who is not on our Approved Legal Panel be added to the Bank’s Legal Panel

If a solicitor/conveyancer/law firm wishes to join our Clydesdale Bank Legal Panel, they should apply via our Panel Manager, LMS. The application process starts here: https://www.lms.com/ConveyancerZone/lenderpanels/apply

LMS will be providing regular updates to the Bank to ensure our Panel is always up to date

The client wishes to use a solicitor who is not listed on the Bank’s Approved Legal Panel. Is this possible for properties in England and Wales?

Yes. This is known as Separate Representation. However, we strongly recommend that your clients use a solicitor who is on our Panel.

Where a non-panel solicitor is used, the Bank will instruct a separate firm, Optima Legal to act on it's behalf. Involving a third party in the process will increase the time taken to complete the mortgage considerably, and may not meet your customer's requirements.

Should you choose a non-panel solicitor, please advice your client that the process is longer as there is a strong dependency on your client’s legal firm to work closely with Optima Legal to ensure their expectations are met. Your clients must also cover the legal costs of the Bank, currently £250 + VAT.

The details of the client’s chosen legal firm should be included in the Mortgage Application Form.

The client wishes to use a solicitor who is not listed on the Bank’s Approved Legal Panel. Is this possible for properties in Scotland?

No. We do not offer a Separate Representation process for properties in Scotland. The client must use a solicitor in our Approved Legal Panel.

 

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