Dead Zeppelin?

Mirroring the residential property market boom, conveyancing practices inflated in size like helium-filled balloons.

And when the market began to fall, the sound of air escaping conveyancing practices reverberated through destinations like Milton Keynes, Leeds and the West End like the sound of a thousand raspberries being blown at once.

Twenty-five at Fox Hayes, four at EMW Law, six at Cobbetts, 23 at Shoosmiths, 13 at Pannone.

More recently all these firms bar one have announced a second wave.

A consultation has also just been launched at the Leeds office of conveyancing work-heavy Fox Hayes with a further 18, eight of whom are fee-earners. Leeds-based fee-earners may also be included in the further 40 in consultation at Cobbetts.

Down south, Shoosmiths made a further nine conveyancers redundant, while the big news in Milton Keynes is that EMW Law is making further double digit lay-offs. Nearby Tollers has also completed a second consultation, making 25 redundant in total - 19 of them in conveyancing.

And there is talk on the grapevine of a host of West End firms including “residential conveyancing specialist” Fridays Property Lawyers seeing their headcounts severely reduced.

After all this, will there be a third wave, or even a fourth? Or has the Zeppelin run out of air already?