Settle Easy saved from collapse
New owner says 'priority this year is to put the right infrastructure in place and make sure our people have the tools they need'.
ONE of the country’s largest conveyancing firms has been saved from collapse after the cash-strapped operator was acquired by legal services company Legal Easy.
The rescue deal ends months of uncertainty at Settle Easy, which entered voluntary administration in May, leaving the future of 85 staff in limbo.
Sydney-based Legal Easy said the rescue deal meant the Settle Easy brand would keep operating, with the firm currently accepting new client matters.
Interim CEO Roy Kim said the immediate focus was to “build sustainable foundations rather than pursue growth for its own sake”.
“Our priority this year is to put the right infrastructure in place and make sure our people have the tools they need,” Kim said in a statement.
“Growth comes next, once those foundations are solid.”
Another priority was to embed new technology to remove “repetitive administration while keeping professional judgement and the client relationship with experienced Australian practitioners”, he said.
“The technology we are introducing will take care of more of the repetitive administration—workflow, reminders, document handling, calculations and routine updates.”
The changes would mean “conveyancers and lawyers can spend more time on the high-value work that requires their judgement: understanding clients, advising them, solving problems and guiding them through settlement”, he added.
The company is servicing clients in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, according to its website.
The deal ends a turbulent time at the conveyancing heavyweight after boutique restructuring, recovery and insolvency firm Salea Advisory was called in to run the show. Salea Advisory said in a statement that the rescue deal took effect on June 30.
Founded in 2019, Settle Easy was forced to tip into administration when “anticipated funding” did not materialise, according to founder Sam Almaliki.
It was previously one of Australia’s largest conveyancing operators by settlements on PEXA and exclusive partner of Aussie Home Loans’s conveyancing service, Aussie Conveyancing.
Legal Easy described Settle Easy’s recent turbulence as a “difficult chapter” but said that did not reflect “the business as it stands today” which had a clear path forward.
Looking ahead, the company’s NSW practice manager Debbie Boardman said it was working to “build a more efficient way of practising law”.
Boardman said that meant “as a lawyer and manager, I can give more time to the most important things in our business: our clients and our people”.
