Most conveyancing adverts fail in the first line. "An exciting opportunity has arisen" tells a lawyer nothing, and they have ten other tabs open. A good advert answers what a conveyancer asks first: what is the job, where, for how much, on what pattern, with how many files and who supervises.
What should a conveyancer job advert say?#
It should say eight things: the title, the place, the pay, the working pattern, the work, the supervision, the route up and what happens next. A lawyer with two other offers may skip an advert that leaves one out. Here is each part, with the weak version beside it.
| Part | What to write | The weak version |
|---|---|---|
| Title | The level and the work in plain words, such as "Senior Conveyancing Solicitor, residential". | "Exciting opportunity". |
| Place | The town and the office the person would use. | "Various locations". |
| Pay | A band for this role, and how any bonus works. | "Competitive salary". |
| Working pattern | The days a week in the office, and the days at home. | "Hybrid". |
| The work | The type of files, a rough number of live files and the case management system. | "Busy desk". |
| Supervision | Who the person reports to and who they will supervise. | "Supportive team". |
| The route up | The next role, in one sentence. | "Opportunities for progression". |
| What happens next | How to apply, who reads it and when they will reply. | "Send your CV". |
A plain title says what the job is. "Join our award-winning team" does not. Name any award in the body, not the title.
Why do pay and working pattern come first?#
Because many jobseekers will not apply without pay, and a firm has to settle both before it can hire. If the budget is not agreed, the role may not be either. The data below comes from job boards and employers, so treat it as indicative.
41%
of 1,043 UK jobseekers said they would refuse to apply for a job with no salary information, up from 38% in 2025 (CV-Library survey, August 2026)
58%
of UK Indeed job postings included pay in the three months to June 2026, below the peak of 64% in September 2024
71%
of organisations in CIPD's 2026 survey of 1,014 UK HR professionals advertised at least some vacancies as open to flexible working (all sectors)
CV-Library also asked 233 recruiters, hiring managers and direct employers why they leave pay off. They were surveyed separately from jobseekers, so do not compare the figures directly.
- Salary varies with experience27%
The most common reason
- Wanting a wider pool of applicants16%
- Budget not yet finalised13%
A band answers the first reason. The third is a warning. Our guide on why legal job adverts should show the salary makes the full case, and the salary guide shows the bands firms are paying. Our jobs page shows every advert with its pay or earnings basis.
Give the working pattern in days. "Hybrid" alone could mean one day in the office or four. How to read a legal job advert lists the phrases candidates distrust.
How do you describe the work, the files and the supervision?#
Give numbers where you have them, and say what you count. "Busy" can read as "too many". A figure with a rule behind it reads as honest.
- The files. Say the type of work: residential sales and purchases, new build, leasehold, commercial. Give a rough number of live files and what you count. There is no official number, as our guide to how many live files is too many explains, so yours is the only one that counts.
- The support. Say whether there is an assistant, and what they do.
- The systems. Name the case management system, and any lender panels or accreditations that shape the work.
- The supervision. Name the role the person reports to and who they would supervise. SRA guidance, updated on 12 June 2026, says a supervisor with their own fee-earning caseload has less time to supervise others. If your supervisor carries files, say how many.
- The qualifications you will consider. Solicitor, licensed conveyancer, CILEX lawyer, or one route only.
Candidates will have the questions in our guide to checking supervision before a first law job in mind. Answer them first. For the role itself, see what a conveyancer does and what they earn.
Do you know the live files per fee earner?
YesPut the figure and your counting rule in the advert.
NoCount them before you advertise. A guess in print becomes a promise.
Is the pay band agreed?
YesShow it.
NoDo not advertise yet. A role without an agreed budget may not be a role.
Does the supervisor have time?
YesSay who they are and what they carry.
NoFix that first, or say what support is in place.
What should you leave out of a conveyancer advert?#
Leave out anything that signals a preference for an age, a sex or another protected characteristic, and anything that says nothing. Acas says that when you advertise a job you must not ask for or exclude anyone with a certain protected characteristic. Its examples include "recent graduate" and "highly experienced", which can discriminate against age, and "barmaid" and "handyman", which imply a preferred gender.
Avoid
- "Youthful enthusiasm", from the EHRC's own example.
- "Recent graduate".
- "Highly experienced".
- Anything saying the job is unsuitable for disabled people.
- "Competitive salary".
Write instead
- A behaviour: "keeps clients informed at each stage".
- The work: "runs a caseload of straightforward sales and purchases with weekly supervision".
- The task: "has taken leasehold sales from instruction to completion".
- A line welcoming applications and saying you will make reasonable adjustments.
- The band.
The EHRC's guide uses "youthful enthusiasm" as its example of probable direct age discrimination. It says the employer needs enthusiasm, which anyone can have. That is the test for every phrase: what do you actually need? Write that. The guide dates from April 2014, and it tells readers to check for a newer version.
Years of experience are harder. If a number of years really is the requirement, be ready to justify it. If it is only shorthand, say what the person must be able to do. The EHRC guide suggests wording such as "We welcome enquiries from everyone and value diversity in our workforce". An advert can encourage applications from a group, but cannot say only people with a particular characteristic need apply, unless a narrow occupational requirement applies.
On this siteCheck what a wrong hire costsPut your own salary, hourly rate and months in post into the calculator and see what a hire that does not fit would cost.Open the calculatorWhat does the law say about job adverts?#
Two sets of rules matter. The Equality Act 2010 applies to a firm advertising its own role. The Conduct Regulations 2003 apply to agencies that advertise for you. This is not legal advice.
Under the Equality Act, section 39(1)(a) says an employer must not discriminate in the arrangements it makes for deciding to whom to offer employment. Section 13(1) defines direct discrimination as treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic. For age alone, section 13(2) allows treatment that is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Section 19 covers indirect discrimination, such as a requirement that puts one group at a particular disadvantage without good reason.
The EHRC guide adds the practical rule. If you advertise, on a website or through an agency, you must not give the impression that you intend to discriminate.
The Conduct Regulations are different. Regulation 27 applies to agencies and employment businesses, not to a firm advertising directly. We found no matching rule in these regulations for a firm advertising its own role. Gov.uk's guidance for agencies includes these points:
- Hold the details. It must not advertise without the full details of the position.
- Hold your authority. It must make sure the hirer has definitely said they are looking for someone to fill it.
- Name itself. It must give its full name.
- Say temporary or permanent. It must state which.
- Add detail if it shows pay. If it gives a rate of pay, it must also state the nature of the work, the location, the minimum experience and any training needed.
Gov.uk's list does not require an agency to show pay, and it does not list the hirer's name. If a recruiter advertises your role, ask to see the advert first. Our guide to telling a real legal vacancy from a CV trap covers regulation 27 from the candidate's side. Our guide to choosing a legal recruiter covers how to brief one.
What does a good advert look like?#
It reads like one person telling another what the job is. Below is an invented example. It is not a real vacancy, and every number in it is made up. Change them for yours.
| Part | What the advert says |
|---|---|
| Title | Senior Conveyancing Solicitor, residential, hybrid. |
| Place | Our city centre office. Two days a week in the office and three at home. |
| Pay | £52,000 to £62,000, depending on experience. 25 days' holiday plus bank holidays. |
| The work | You will run your own caseload of residential sales and purchases, about 55 live files, including some leasehold. We count stalled files and post-completion files separately. A named assistant opens files and chases searches. We use [your case management system], with automatic reminders. |
| Supervision | You report to the head of department, who holds a smaller caseload. You will supervise two assistants. Weekly one-to-one. |
| The route up | The next role is supervisor. The criteria are written down and reviewed at twelve months. |
| Qualifications | Solicitors, licensed conveyancers and CILEX lawyers may apply. |
| Equality | We welcome applications from everyone and will make reasonable adjustments at interview and on appointment. |
| Next | Send your CV to the named person. We reply within five working days and tell you the interview stages. |
Promise only the reply time you will keep. If five working days is too fast, write ten.
If software screens applications, say so. Candidates ask, as our guide on whether AI is reading your CV shows.
What are the most common mistakes?#
Most are omissions of facts the firm could supply.
- Leaving pay out and hoping to negotiate. You lose the people who will not apply without a figure.
- Writing "hybrid" without days. The lawyer has to ask.
- Saying "busy" without files. It reads as too many.
- Asking for years instead of skills. It may exclude people who can do the job, and raise the age problem above.
- Listing every duty and no supervision. The candidate cannot tell if anyone will help.
- Never replying. See why recruiters ghost lawyers for how that looks from the other side.
- Leaving it up after the role is filled. That is a stale advert, one of the ways a role becomes a ghost job.
- Briefing a recruiter differently. The advert and the brief should match.
How long should you keep a conveyancer advert live?#
Until you have enough good applications to shortlist, or the role is filled, whichever comes first. We found no source giving a right length for a conveyancing advert. Set a review date when you publish.
For scale, a Totaljobs survey of 1,000 UK HR decision-makers (December 2024 to January 2025, all sectors) found an average of 5.1 weeks from advertising a role to filling it. CIPD's 2026 survey found only 31% of organisations tracked time to hire. So track your own.
Set a review date
Choose a date when you publish, such as two weeks out. It is our suggestion, not a rule.
Reply to everyone
Acknowledge each one and say when they will hear.
Update when facts change
If the pay band, the days or the supervisor changes, change the advert the same day.
Close when an offer is accepted
Not when the person starts. Take down every copy, including a recruiter's.
Say so if you are only talking
If there is no vacancy yet, write that plainly.
What should you check before you publish?#
Read it as a lawyer who has two other offers. Would you apply? If the answer depends on a number you left out, put the number in.
If you would rather talk it through, the discovery meeting for firms is 30 minutes on Microsoft Teams. We give a written market read before you pay anything, and terms are agreed in writing before any CV is sent. Every advert we run shows the pay or earnings basis, the working pattern and the date. See our conveyancing recruitment page and the employers page. Pay differs by place, so the salary guide is a good start in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, London or Preston. See the locations page.
On this siteTell us about the roleRegister a conveyancing vacancy. A named person looks after you, and terms are agreed in writing before any CV is sent.Register a vacancySources
- Acas: Advertising a job (updated 30 June 2026)
- Acas: Using protected characteristics in recruitment (updated 30 June 2026)
- EHRC: What equality law means for you as an employer, when you recruit someone to work for you (Equality Act 2010 guidance, updated April 2014)
- legislation.gov.uk: Equality Act 2010, section 13 (direct discrimination)
- legislation.gov.uk: Equality Act 2010, section 19 (indirect discrimination)
- legislation.gov.uk: Equality Act 2010, section 39 (employees and applicants)
- legislation.gov.uk: Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 27 (Advertisements)
- GOV.UK: Employment agencies and businesses, job advertisements
- Onrec: 4 in 10 jobseekers won't apply without a salary, reporting CV-Library's Candidate Behaviour Barometer 2026 (13 October 2026, job board survey)
- Indeed Hiring Lab: Indeed's 2026 Mid-Year UK Jobs and Hiring Trends Report (3 August 2026)
- CIPD: Resourcing and talent planning report 2026 (survey of 1,014 UK HR professionals, 2 April to 2 May 2026)
- Totaljobs: Hiring Trends Index, Q4 2024 (survey of 1,000 UK HR decision-makers by Opinium, 8 April 2025, job board survey)
- SRA: Effective supervision guidance (updated 12 June 2026)
This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.