So let's think about this for a moment. 

Back in the day, when I worked for a white shoe law firm, my boss charged whatever he felt like charging because the firm basically *owned* the bank.  We did ALL of their closings.  No other law firms even got within sniffing distance of the bank's mortgage department.  Title work was done by a crew of 3 of us.  We used paper forms because there were no photocopiers in any of the Registries.  A full title took  a minimum of two full working days to complete & closings weren't scheduled until after my boss had reviewed the title.  That was in 1975.

In 1985 or thereabouts that all changed.  Individual law firms stopped having a stranglehold on banks.  Law firms competed for mortgage lending business.  The boom times of 1984-1989 & so forth was driven by technological advances, both in & out of the Registry. 

The long & the short of it was that with increased competition ,fees were no longer based on what the market would bear; but on what the market would accept & what the market decided it would accept was lower fees & increased volumes.

Back to the techno advances.  I am the original luddite with computers BUT bless their little mechanical hearts - having one made it possible for me to go out & start my own business as a freelance title examiner as I could cover more distance in a day through the magic of the internet.  I no longer had to accept whatever a boss was willing to pay me- now I could more or less work like crazy & make my own way in the world.

Change is inevitable.  It is the way the world works.  Technological change will obviously mean more consolidation - look at big banks & other merged institutions.  Look at Red Vision's * we cover or intend to cover 90% of the US* advertising on this site.   E-filing has taken over most of the recording fees examiners in Massachusetts used to pocket.  That money is now going to a corporate entity.  Personally, I'm not so sure that's a good idea & I suspect that in some cases there will be massive re-recordings & cleanups that will need to be done; but if law firms want to plump up their bottom line by cutting out the middlemen then there it is- it's nothing more than change.

My response to change is to accept it & keep moving forwards.  In 10 years or 5 years or 2 years we might all be out of a job; but honestly, I think that's true of just about everyone.  Lifetime employment is a thing of the past; & in some ways I think that's a good thing  especially given the amount of effort I was putting forth & the amount of compensation I was receiving in return.