Editing Lawyer (section)

===Conveyancing===
Conveyancing is the drafting of the documents necessary for the transfer of [[real property]], such as [[deed]]s and [[mortgage law|mortgages]]. In some jurisdictions, all [[real estate]] transactions must be carried out by a lawyer.<ref>Abel, ''England and Wales'', 176; Hazard, 90–93; Murray, 325; and Pérez-Perdomo, "Venezuelan Legal Profession", 387.</ref> Historically, conveyancing accounted for about half of English solicitors' income, though this has since changed,<ref>Abel, ''England and Wales'', 177.</ref> and a 1978 study showed that conveyancing "accounts for as much as 80 percent of solicitor-client contact in [[New South Wales]]."<ref>Weisbrot, 292.</ref> In most common law jurisdictions outside of the United States, this monopoly arose from an 1804 law<ref>s. 14 Stamp Act 1804</ref> that was introduced by [[William Pitt the Younger]] as a ''[[quid pro quo]]'' for the raising of fees on the certification of legal professionals such as barristers, solicitors, attorneys, and notaries.<ref>[[Brian Abel-Smith]] and [[Robert Stevens (lawyer)|Robert Stevens]], ''Lawyers and the Courts: A Sociological Study of the English Legal System, 1750–1965'' ([[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]]: [[Harvard University]] Press, 1967), 23.</ref>

In others, the use of a lawyer is optional and banks, title companies, or [[realtor]]s may be used instead.<ref>Weisbrot, 251.</ref> In some civil law jurisdictions, real estate transactions are handled by civil law notaries.<ref>Arthurs, 125; Huyse, 227; and Schuyt, 201.</ref> In England and Wales, a special class of legal professionals–the [[licensed conveyancer]]–is also allowed to carry out conveyancing services for reward.<ref>Simon Domberger and Avrom Sherr, "The Impact of Competition on Pricing and Quality of Legal Services", in ''The Regulatory Challenge,'' eds. Matthew Bishop, John Kay, Colin Mayer, 119–137 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), 121–122.</ref>