You may have heard us make reference to Lexcel, and those of you who have spent time on our website will have seen the logo amongst our other accreditations. But what is it, and what does it mean? Having just passed another annual inspection on the Standard, we thought there was no better time than now to highlight Lexcel and explain exactly what it is for.
What is Lexcel?
Awarded by the Law Society, they define the Lexcel accreditation as a “legal practice quality mark promoting a quality management approach for client service and how to run a legal practice”. They set required standards and guidelines for firms, and run inspections every year to ensure that these are being followed. Their inspections are essentially similar to an Ofsted review for law firms; where a practice is monitored against the set standards, positive feedback is given, and suggestions for improvements are made to allow the firm to continue to grow and provide the best services for their clients.
What does it mean for our clients?
Lexcel accreditation gives our clients peace of mind in knowing that our firm and everyone in it follows a structure recognised by the government, which is specifically designed to benefit our clients and their needs, enabling us to provide the best client-experience and service possible. The yearly inspections allow for ongoing improvements to be made and help to keep our firm up-to-date with any changes.
While Lexcel is not a compulsory accreditation and not all law firms hold it, but we feel it is an important process to be involved in, as it helps us help you. We have been accredited against the standard since 2009 and are approaching our 10th anniversary!
So, how did our inspection go?
There were some very positive words that came from our Lexcel inspection this year. To name a few, we were recognised for our commitments to the local community, our in-house organisational skills, and our client-care.
Here is what our inspector had to say: “HartLaw has had another good year. There is still a commitment to corporate social responsibility and all staff have been trained as dementia friends. The firm remains CQS, IIP, WIQS and cyber essentials accredited.
“There are no adverse trends, no claims, no increase in complaints and good client satisfaction feedback and the quality of client care, risk and file management is good.”
And those weren’t the only kind words. Kate from our Family Law department had this to say:
