Lexcel accreditation consulting for law firms that want their management to stand up to assessment.

What it is

What is Lexcel accreditation?

Lexcel is a practice management accreditation owned by the Law Society of England and Wales and listed among its firm accreditations. It gives a legal practice an external assessment of how the firm is managed, rather than of the legal quality of any single piece of advice.

The Law Society runs two versions. Lexcel England and Wales is for practices in that jurisdiction; Lexcel International is for legal practices elsewhere. A practice applies to the Law Society and is assessed against the version that fits it. Lexcel is not an ISO standard, and it is not issued by a certification body, although firms already running ISO 9001 or ISO/IEC 27001 will recognise the management-system logic behind it.

Current versions. The Law Society's application pages refer to Lexcel England and Wales v6.1 and Lexcel International v5.1. Confirm the version in force with the Law Society when you apply.

Who it is for

Who needs Lexcel?

Law firms usually come to Lexcel from one of four starting points:

• Clients and panels want evidence of good management. Corporate clients, referrers and panel reviews look for an external mark when they choose a firm.
• The firm is growing. More fee earners, offices or practice areas make informal ways of working hard to keep consistent.
• Partners want one framework for risk. Client matters, supervision, information and complaints handled the same way across the firm.
• You practise outside England and Wales. Lexcel International offers legal practices elsewhere the same kind of assessment.

Accreditation reflects how the firm operates on the day of assessment and after it; the value comes from the practices, not the logo.

Requirements

What does Lexcel require?

The Law Society publishes the Lexcel standard for each version. Its section structure is not summarised here, so the list below describes what a Sterling Lexcel programme covers rather than the standard's own headings; every requirement is checked against the applicable version during the gap assessment.

• Gap assessment: your current practice compared with the applicable Lexcel version, keeping what already works
• Practice management policies: written around how your firm is actually run, short enough to be used
• Risk and client matters: how risks in the practice and in client work are identified, recorded and supervised
• Information and confidentiality: arrangements that protect client information in daily work
• Training: partners, fee earners and support staff trained on the policies that apply to them
• Internal review: files and processes reviewed, with findings closed before the assessment

Your engagement

What your Lexcel engagement includes

Your agreed scope brings together what the firm needs for a working practice management system and a prepared team, from one team under one all-inclusive proposal.

• Scope, gap assessment and plan

  Version, offices and practice areas agreed, with owners and dates.

• Policies and procedures

  Built with your partners and practice manager, on Sterling's template sets.

• Effivity ISO & GRC software

  Policies, registers and reviews in one workspace, included at no additional cost.

• Training for everyone

  Preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people.

• Internal review

  Files and processes reviewed as agreed, with findings closed with evidence.

• Assessment readiness

  Preparation for the Lexcel assessment and support until the outcome.

Sterling does not accredit. The Lexcel assessment and the accreditation decision sit with the Law Society's process.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with Lexcel

• COPC CX StandardCOPC CX Standard certification readiness for contact centres and CX operations: gap assessment, metrics, processes and people, with Sterling's support.
• ISO 17100ISO 17100 certification for translation service providers: processes, translator and reviser competence, client agreements and audit readiness with Sterling.
• ISO 18091ISO 18091 local government guidance put into practice: a citizen-focused ISO 9001 quality system, the diagnostic, SDG progress and certification readiness.
• ISO 18295ISO 18295 certification consulting for in-house and outsourced contact centres: consistent, measurable customer service on every channel, ready for audit.
• ISO 18587ISO 18587 certification support for language service providers: post-editing process, post-editor competence and audit readiness, with Effivity included.
• ISO 18788 / PSC.1ISO 18788 certification support for private security companies: SOMS implementation, legal and human rights controls, training and audit readiness.