If you are considering applying for the Law Society’s Lexcel accreditation and need some more information before making that decision please see our page What is Lexcel? which gives a basic overview of the standard and why it might be beneficial for your practice. For more detailed guidance, including a copy of the standard, the fees involved and how to apply, take a look at the Lexcel pages on the Law Society’s website.

If you have already decided that Lexcel accreditation is the way forward for your firm but need help preparing for your first assessment then Linwood’s Lexcel consultancy service can help you.  We can also help you if you are an existing Lexcel accredited practice looking for advice on how to meet a particular aspect of the standard or any subsequent revisions to it.  Our Law Society approved Lexcel consultant will guide you through the process to ensure that the documentation and processes you put into place satisfy the accreditation requirements.

Whether you are starting from scratch, tightening up your procedures or need to revise your documentation, gap analysis will establish how close you are to achieving compliance. Once we have established what you need to do in order to meet the relevant requirements we can work with you on a timetable and detail our respective responsibilities. We can undertake the bulk of the work or we can provide help and guidance – as little or as much as you need.

It is important to us that we spend some time getting to know your business and how it operates. Whilst there is a standard to be achieved, Lexcel is not an off the shelf tick box exercise. It’s a way of working which requires buy-in from all of your people and documentation which is tailored to you and your business (by over using standardised, off the shelf documentation, you risk being caught out by your assessor very quickly). You have to do what you say you will do and your staff will need to demonstrate that they know what your procedures are and comply with them. It might sound daunting at the outset but it will soon become second nature. And with improved practice and risk management procedures in place your COLP will be happy too.

In addition to ensuring that your policies and procedures are compliant we can offer the following additional practical assistance:

• training sessions for staff or train the trainer sessions so that dedicated people in your business can deliver training in the key areas;
• undertake sample file audits to identify any trends, potential non-compliances and areas for improvement. This will also introduce your people to the concept of an external person auditing their work;
• help you set up a committee and attend meetings during the implementation period to provide support to those responsible in your organisation for the administration and roll out, helping to iron out any teething problems with particular elements of the standard which are proving difficult or any wider issues of engagement; and
• undertake a pre-assessment review, just to check that you are ready for your Lexcel assessment.

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