[blindlaw] title searches

[Will Miller]

Dear list:

 

I am Will Miller, a blind lawyer in North Carolina. I have monitored this list since starting law school in 2006 and have gleaned some excellent information over the years. I hope that some of you can advise me on an issue I have recently encountered in my law practice.

 

I have a general civil law practice and hope to concentrate in elder law, disability, workers' comp, and employment. I share space, resources, and the services of a paralegal with an attorney who has ten years of experience in medical malpractice. My colleague also handles real estate closings to supplement her med mal practice. I have the opportunity to handle the occasional closing and am working on my first one now. 

 

My question is in regard to title searches. When preparing the preliminary opinion on title for my colleague, our paralegal copies all relevant documents in the chain of title at the register of deeds and submits the documents to the attorney for review before sending the preliminary opinion to the title insurance company. The paralegal told me that many of the documents are not suitable for scanning, and that she would have to hand-type the relevant information for me. We do not think this would allow me to adequately supervise the paralegals work and feel that this process would involve an inefficient use of the paralegal's time. 

 

Do any attorneys or paralegals on this list handle real estate closings? If so, have you developed an efficient means of performing or supervising title searches? Any guidance is very much appreciated.

 

Thank you,

 

Will

 

William T. Miller

Attorney at Law

Terre T. Yde, P.A.

P.O. Box 2478

Kernersville, NC  27285

Phone: (336) 497-4419

Fax: (336) 497-4422